Emerald in the Rough
by You Can Call Me Nora
Summary: When a mysterious energy source leads Sonic and co. to a wolf with a terrible past and a connection to the Chaos Emeralds, they find themselves thrown into yet another crazy adventure. But have they gotten in over their heads this time? T for violence.
1. Prologue

**A.N:** Yeah, so this is my very first story. So if anybody takes the time to read this, thank you very much and I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to R&R and if you need to criticize it in any way, bring it on! I'd really appreciate it if you were nice, though. Just saying.

Okay, some need to know info: This story is set about a year after Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog, and about six months or so after Sonic the Hedgehog aka Sonic '06 (which technically never happened, but I digress). Also, I named any cities or other areas after the fact that in Sonic Unleashed, all of Mobius's city names are given somewhat original names that are kind of named after Earth cities. So if you don't know where a location I've made up is, it's okay, just take a guess, 'cause chances are, I don't know either.

And... Sonic the Hedgehog, the other characters, their abilities, the Chaos Emeralds and Mobius all belong to Sega. However, all of my original characters and specific locations belong to yours truly. So please be respectful. Hands off. Look but don't touch. That means you.

Oh yeah. Important. Every character in the Prologue belongs to me. You don't know any of them. Yet.

Enough rambling. Enjoy the story.

* * *

Prologue

I can't run anymore.

Fortunately, we're taking refuge in this cave for now, but how long can that remain safe?

These opinions aren't the result of being exhausted, or half-starved or sleep deprived – all of which I am – but I have begun to question the purpose of our flight. They're going to find us anyway.

I sigh quietly and look once again around our makeshift shelter. It fits our situation perfectly – dark, dry, uncomfortable. It's big enough for all of us to live in, but lacks necessary resources like food and water.

It looks exactly like a tomb.

I look at the groups my fellow fugitives have separated themselves into. My mother comforts my younger brother and sister as they try to catch what sleep they can. My older brother is attempting to calm my agitated father who has not been himself lately. Not only did he lose everything he had, but he watched it all get destroyed by the traitors who had called themselves his friends.

Two of these friends are separated by the wall nearest to me. They are not the traitors their former comrades are, but there is obviously a level of distrust from my family around those two. But I trust them with my life. They are the only friends I have.

I sit apart from all these groups. Aside from the cloud of despair that hangs over us, I know that my family would much prefer me dead. I had the chance to save our home. Not only did I fail, I survived. That wasn't good enough for them, it would seem.

Neguuma and Rregnis, my friends, have brought some large device with them. They are being quite secretive about it, which is strange enough. All I know is that it's for "Operation Desperation" or something. My family only knows that it's an extra weight to carry around.

We have a plan, of course. We're heading north – our pursuers don't like the cold – and we're going to try to settle somewhere up there. I doubt this is going to work, so our other plan is to use the _Brivka S'Lyth_ – the stones of power - we took from them to warp to who-knows-where. If this fails, that's when "Operation Desperation" comes in, whatever that is.

This situation has brought us together in some ways. We're a little like a pack now. After all, we are wolves, and we are now homeless, wandering nomads like our ancestors. I guess that would make my father the leader; he's used to that anyway, but with him in this state, who knows?

Neguuma and Rregnis are obviously not wolves; their scaly skin and small angular frames far different from anything I've ever seen. But what they are, nobody really knows. They call themselves the Négriss, and they say they come from a place farther away than any of us can imagine. But none of that matters now.

What _does_ matter is that the other Négriss are searching for us and they usually get what they want.

I sigh again and hug myself tightly, trying to ward off the cold and despair wrapped around us like a cloak. After watching our home and our city fall, we lost almost all hope of surviving. Which is probably why we won't.

Suddenly, my ears perk up as I hear a faint shout. My senses have always been much sharper than anywhere near normal. I turn my head to listen as hard as I can to try to hone in on the sound. Everyone freezes and watches me. They all hold their breath, more so in fear than in helping me hear better.

It takes me a few seconds, but I can hear them approaching. They sound less than five bow shots away and closing in quickly. Immediately, I think that the only reason they would be this careless and noisy would be that...

"They've found us," I whisper hoarsely.

Nobody moves for several seconds. Then my little brother, his eyes heavy with sleep, but filled with despair asks the question we are all thinking: "Are we gonna die?"

A fresh wave of fear spreads all around the cave. My mother stands up. "Should we run?" she asks.

We all turn to the entrance of the cave and look out at the wasteland beyond. While everyone else sees black smudges on the horizon, I can pick out faces of the Négriss on their strange, floating machines. I don't recognize most of them, but maybe that's because the face I _do_ recognize is one I had hoped I would never see again.

"No," answers Neguuma, suddenly beside me. "They're much too close and advancing too fast. They'll be here in a minute or two."

"Crilch!" Rregnis swears softly in his own tongue.

"This is all your fault!" my older brother accuses, pointing at me. "You should have been more alert! We might have had a chance!"

"Stop it." Neguuma says calmly, but with an underlying growl of authority. "The Négriss are careful and know how to be silent. Not even your sister could hear-"

"That _thing_ is not my sister!" my brother cries, and swings his open hand at my face. Neguuma stops his hand just in time, but the damage has already been done.

"We don't have time for this!" Neguuma hisses at my brother. He looks as though he is about to argue, but says nothing. I glance out at the approaching mob, if only to confirm Neguuma's statement. They have already covered a full bow shot.

"Do... do we try the alternative?" my little sister inquires hesitantly.

"Nah, too late for that," Rregnis replies. More than one pair of eyes glare at me. My family feels I have let them down again. I suppose I have, but is it really my fault?

"We can't just sit here!" my older brother declares. "We can't let them find us, not without a fight!" He draws his sword, daring anyone to challenge him.

Neguuma and Rregnis exchange a meaningful glance, which I catch, and I realize that Operation Desperation is about to come into play. "There... is another way," Neguuma starts slowly, "but more than one of us will die if we try it."

At the morbid silence that follows, Rregnis states a hopeful point. "But a couple of us will survive, which is more than what we could possibly hope for if we try to fight them."

Everyone nods slowly, hope completely abandoned. I glance outside to discover that little more than half the field separates us from them.

"It is imperative that the other Négriss don't reclaim the _Brivka_," starts Neguuma. "If they do, it could spell disaster for the whole world. We have a plan that can keep them safe, but we need a diversion to buy us enough time to apply it."

Suspicions arouse as realization dawns on us. That's the reason that we won't all survive. I can practically hear the unsaid accusations being pitched by my family.

To prevent an unnecessary argument from starting, I speak up. "I could hold them off for-"

"Oh, no you don't!" Rregnis interrupts.

"You are a vital part of this plan," Neguuma explains. "Without you alive, this plan will fail and not only us, but this whole world will be doomed."

"We have to protect _her?_" My older brother doesn't even try to hide the disgust in his outcry.

"Well, yeah, if you wanna keep the _Brivka_ away from _them,_" Rregnis states, motioning outside. Maybe two bow shots remain for them to travel. _Maybe one of mine,_ I think as I curse myself once again for not bringing my bow and arrows.

Neguuma suddenly grabs my wrist and pulls me toward the back of the cave. "Give her your gems!" he yells at everyone, as he pulls his own out of the bag slung over his shoulder. The turquoise stone matches his eyes, I notice absently.

The _Brivka_ are pulled out of various pockets and pouches, some more eagerly than others. I pull out the large green jewel I have in my side bag. It is quite a bit larger than the others, and it emits a different kind of energy than them. We call it the _Y'altu_, the master or controller. It begins to glow, as do the seven held by the others. The _Y'altu _rises above my head and starts the chain reaction of energy fields that pulls the other stones into a rotating circle around me.

"Here they come," my father finally speaks. I see a spark of life return to his eyes. Although it is wonderful to see my father come back to us, it saddens me to know that this is a suicide run; a stall for time; his final campaign.

My father draws his sword and stands beside my brother near the cave entrance. My younger brother bounces eagerly beside them, but my father tells him to sit near the back with my mother and sister.

This offends him greatly. "But I wanna fight 'em! I can fight! We can show 'em!" he proclaims excitedly, but he retreats at my father's warning look.

As the _Brivka_ continue to spin around me, their speed slowly increasing, I can feel their energy pulsing through my body, matching my heartbeat. I take a deep breath to calm myself, as I have no idea what is going to happen.

Neguuma stands at my left, helping Rregnis, on my right, with their device. "You alright?" he asks me with concern.

I know he's talking about my brother's comments about me. I nod and try to smile reassuringly at him. I've been denied by them before; it doesn't hurt so much now.

But still.

"All set over here," Rregnis informs Neguuma, who nods in response. Strange markings begin to glow in strange, changing patterns all over the outside of the device. From where I stand, the two hollow halves of their device look like two halves of a box. Or a coffin.

_And I'm in between_, I realize with a shudder.

A surge of energy rushes through me, and I gasp as my feet leave the floor. "Just relax, and do what comes naturally!" Rregnis calls to me. I try to breathe deeply, but find it difficult because of the incredible amount of energy flowing through my body. My arms rise slowly, as if I'm floating in water instead of on the energy from the _Brivka_.

Just then, a battle cry shatters my thoughts, as my older brother sprints out of the cave, his sword swinging wildly. My father tries in vain to stop him. It doesn't take unnaturally sharp ears that hear his wild battle cry become one of pain, or a nose that can smell his blood escaping his body, or senses strong enough to feel his heart abruptly stop beating to know that he is dead.

A cry of pain escapes my father's lips and he glares at me with more hatred than I thought could consume a person. He blames me for his son's death. True, I might have been able to prevent it in a different situation, but can I be blamed for his reckless suicide run?

The _Brivka_ rotate around me faster and glow even brighter, and I clench my teeth together hard. The tremendous amount of energy is almost more than I can contain. Rregnis and Neguuma back up as their mechanical coffin starts to hum softly.

Shouts from outside indicate our enemies' arrival. Neguuma glances outside. "Not already," he mutters, his eyes narrowing. "We need more time."

My little brother must have heard this, because he immediately jumps and, to my horror, races toward the cave entrance, brandishing his rapier a little too eagerly. My mother cries out, and my father reaches for him, but both are too slow and he, too, meets his demise.

While my mother and sister sit in stunned silence, my father, with one last hateful glance at me, bounds out to join his sons in death.

Rregnis slaps his face in exasperation, and Neguuma walks up to me, carefully avoiding the still spinning stones, and reaches up to take my face in his hands so all I see is his face. "No matter what happens, know that I love you and I will always be there for you, no matter what. I swear it." My jaw drops, and he firmly hugs me, then turns to Rregnis. "Make sure this goes through!" he yells at him as he runs toward the enemy. "I'll buy you some more time!"

Rregnis calls out to stop him, but is ignored as he rushes out of the cave. I am too stunned to even try to stop him, his promise still ringing in my ears.

_This isn't real. This isn't happening. I must be dreaming. This is just a bad dream._ Thoughts of denial and disbelief run through my head. But not even I could imagine this horror. _This is all my fault._

Rregnis faces me, and then glances at the box-like things that are now floating in the air – they must be connected to the _Brivka's_ energy somehow. But what does it all mean? _What's going on?_

I hear what sounds like an argument outside. Their leader's smug, commanding voice sends shivers down my spine and brings back painful memories I would give anything to forget. I hear Neguuma's roars of defiance become grunts and hisses of pain as I hear and _feel_ them beat him. There is a short quiet before their leader's smooth voice comes up again and promises capture, torture and death. Neguuma with steady bravery states that he doesn't care, and his captor, with smug amusement clarifies that it is all meant for _me_.

Neguuma's protestant howl is cut off halfway through as a solid _thud_ silences him. I can't hold back a gasp and immediately press my eyes shut in concentration. I listen more intently than I have in any training, just to hear his heart beating, his lungs breathing, any sign of life.

I find it, his slow, strange heartbeat weak, but present. A mixture of relief and grief rushes through me, as I realize that he is alive, but only to be tortured to death later.

I freeze as I look up and see _his_ face in the cave entrance. Rregnis, upon seeing my face, spins around and snarls at the intruder. My mother and sister shriek in terror and huddle closer together in their corner. Our enemy seems to find this amusing, and points something he holds in his hand at them. Before I can even blink, a flash of light, followed closely by another one comes out of his weapon, and I watch my last remaining family members collapse in death.

Emotions, the strength of which I had never previously known, rise within me like a wildfire. I glare at _him_, every one of these emotions aimed directly at the murderer in front of me.

The _Brivka_ blur together they are moving so fast, and everything else seems to slow down. His weapon is aimed at me. There is a cry of protest, and Rregnis is suddenly in front of me as a light flashes. I scream – a final reaction to all these events, and my arms fold across my chest protectively. But then a brighter light shines all around me – from me – blinding me before I hear a final hollow _thud_ and everything goes black.

My last thought is _I'm sorry._ However, I don't know who exactly I'm apologizing to.

* * *

Ooh... What's going on? Maybe you'll find out in the next chapter... which probably won't be updated for another year. Sorry.

R&R please! Don't be shy. And please point out any spelling/grammar errors you find. I'd really appreciate it.


	2. All at Once

**AN: **Okey dokey, I've finally updated. The story actually starts here, as you can tell by the first sentence.

This is my first story, so if the characters are slightly out-of-character, then let me know or bear with it. The thing is, I'm trying to make this seem as though this were actually happening in a game, language-wise at least. The fight scenes are going to be quite a bit more realistic, though, in terms of injuries and blood, thus the T-rating.

BTW, this is basically a chapter used to get me into the characters' heads. I'm trying to get to see what they're thinking so I can decide how they act and what they do. Thus the descriptions and internal monologues, so to speak.

And one more thing: if you couldn't tell from the title, all three parts are happening at the same time. Not that you couldn't have figured it out, I mean, it's obvious, but... oh... forget it. Just read it.

Oh yeah. The Sonic characters, world, and other stuff all belong to Sega. However, R.I.G, Headless, Jake and his minions all belong to me. Please leave them alone.

* * *

Chapter 1 - All at Once

Boredom was not something Sonic handled very well.

He sighed loudly and asked, not for the first time, "Are we there, yet?"

This was answered by the fox in the pilot's seat of the Tornado X-Z. "No, we're not." Tails turned and looked over his shoulder at the blue hedgehog slouched in the seat behind him. "Just so you know, we won't be there in five minutes, either," he added with a laugh.

Sonic snorted sourly at the joke. A tinkly laugh to his right drew his attention to the pink hedgehog in the seat beside him. He turned to her without changing his expression. Too much. "What?"

She turned to him "Oh, come on, Sonic, you know he's right. You've asked that at least ten times already. Just relax." Amy closed her eyes and reclined in her seat, portraying the image of tranquility. "We're flying over a tropical sea. You're surrounded by friends." She opened an eye and stared at him questioningly. "What's your problem?"

"My problem?" he countered, straightening argumentatively. "Well first off, I could be _running_ faster than this!"

"Oh really?" she challenged. "You could run faster than a plane?"

"Yeah, easy," he answered with a confident grin.

"Over water?"

Sonic, remembering his inability to even stay afloat in water, flinched as he glanced down at the wide, blue ocean far below them. "I hate water," he grumbled moodily as he returned to a slouch. Amy giggled at her small victory which brought out a glare from him. "Couldn't we have at least have flown over land?" he complained to Tails.

Tails blinked. "What difference would that make, besides a longer route?"

Sonic jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "At least then I could jump out instead of having to listen to that knucklehead back there!"

The three paused in their discussion for a few seconds; Sonic, to prove his point; and Tails and Amy in blank confusion. In those few seconds, over the noise of the engine, the echidna in question could be heard quite clearly, snoring loudly in peaceful slumber in the back seat.

"Ah," Amy nodded in understanding.

"He is snoring rather loudly," Tails added.

"_And_," Sonic continued his rant, "I'm starving! I haven't eaten in, like, six hours!"

"A-ha!" Tails declared triumphantly.

"Few things annoy a hedgehog more than an empty stomach," commented Amy knowingly.

"I did suggest a lunch break an hour ago," Tails reminded them.

Sonic glared at the two-tailed fox. "You call that food? That was, like, insect stew! If Eggman went to the trouble of making a base, you'd think he would have made it near a place that sold chili dogs!"

Amy raised an eyebrow. "Chili dogs?" she asked skeptically.

"I highly doubt Eggman would pick a good location for carrying out his plans based on your dietary preferences," Tails pointed out gently.

"Huh," Sonic snorted sulkily. "You'd think, after all these years, he'd get to know a guy."

In the back seat, Knuckles snored and rolled over. Sonic cringed at the noise.

"There, there," Amy said in mock sympathy and reached over to pat Sonic on the head. "You'll be okay."

"Oh, be quiet," he grunted as he swatted her hand away.

Tails sighed quietly. "Well, it's not like it was a hard, long drawn-out battle. Just a giant factory to blow up."

"Exactly!" Sonic declared, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. "How many of his stupid factories do I blow up? Every single time I fight him there's a factory involved! And there wasn't even a giant robot this time! It's _insulting!_"

"It is rather repetitive, isn't it?" commented Tails thoughtfully.

"And the trip there and back is the worst part, huh?" added Amy.

Sonic waved three fingers in her face. "Third time this month, Amy. _Third. Time!"_ He glared out at the ocean below. "What kind of a nut builds a giant robot factory in the middle of _nowhere_? I mean, what's the point?" He sighed in frustration and reverted to a slouch. "Maybe he's going through a mid life crisis, or something," He added with an amused grin.

Amy sighed and shook her head. She knew Sonic would be like this until he was fed and on dry land. Until then, unless otherwise distracted, he would sulk and complain about his discomfort. He was so childish, which she found funny, considering he was three years older than her. And, funnier still, Tails sometimes seemed more mature than both of them – and he was only nine!

Her thoughts were interrupted as Knuckles snored especially loud, causing Sonic to cringe again and cover his ears. "Are we there _now?_" he snapped at no one in particular.

"No," Tails and Amy answered together.

Sonic groaned and reclined in defeat. "But this is so _boring!_ I haven't done anything fun in forever! We should go on an adventure, or something! Travel the world, save people, stop some guy's evil plan..." His eyes lit up as he remembered similar trips he had gone on over the past few years.

"So long as it's not too much to handle," Tails said quietly.

"Too much to handle? After all we've been through together? What could possibly happen that we can't take care of?"

After a few seconds of dismissive laughter, Murphy's Law kicked in.

Several things happened at once. Lights and alarms came on all over the control panel of the plane. Tails gasped, and immediately began pushing buttons to fix the indicated problems. Knuckles woke up with a yell as he tried to regain his senses after his sudden awakening. Amy, startled by the alarms and the now yelling echidna, shrieked and instinctively reached for Sonic's arm.

Sonic wasn't reacting to the same events as everyone else. Right before the alarms started going off, he all of a sudden felt dizzy as a series of images started flashing through his head. A beam of light. An explosion. Buildings collapsing. A burning city. People screaming in the streets of an ancient city. Glimpses of faces. Silhouettes. A desert. A cave. A row of sharp, jagged teeth bared in a snarl. In the background he could hear a faint scream, increasing in volume every second. A sharp pain pounded against his skull with every image. He placed one hand on his forehead, the other on the armrest of his seat to steady himself.

"What's... going... on?" he grunted in pain. At that point, Amy grabbed his arm – the one on the armrest. He lost his balance and nearly hit Amy on his way to the floor. She landed on top of him.

Tails, meanwhile, was frantically trying to regain control of the plane. Smoke was starting to come out of places it wasn't supposed to, and they were losing altitude fast. He had determined from the sudden loss of control and system overloading that the Chaos Emerald he was using to power the plane was having a massive power surge. He had handled power surges before and had crashed enough times because of them to know exactly what happened with the energy during one. But this power surge had had no warning, not even the usual three or four seconds of slight down time before the surge. This particular surge was also much more extreme than any other he had witnessed, test or accident. A crash landing, he knew, was eminent, but he had never pulled one off this far from shore before, and certainly not with passengers! _How am I gonna pull this off?_ he wondered, urgency increasing with each passing second.

By this point, Knuckles had determined that he was in relative safety. He had stopped yelling, and had moved on to asking questions. "Where are we? What's going on?" He paused as he noticed Sonic and Amy on the floor of the plane "What the heck are you two doing?"

He was ignored, however, as everyone else was dealing with their own problems. Tails was still trying to seize control of the plane. Sonic was curled into a ball of pain with both hands gripping his throbbing head, the images in his head flashing faster and faster, and the scream becoming deafening. Amy was desperately trying to bring him back to reality.

"Sonic! Sonic, wake up! What's wrong?" she cried as she shook his arm. "Can you hear me? Sonic!"

"Ng... No! Arrrgh...S-stop! Don't... Rrrgh..." was all she got out of him.

"Aaaah!" yelled Tails as the plane rolled into a spinning nose dive.

Sonic let out a final grunt of agony before he lost consciousness. "Sonic! Aaaah-!" screamed Amy before she curled into his limp body to brace both herself and him against the spinning motion of the plane. Knuckles resumed yelling as he nearly rolled out of the plane before he grabbed the back of his seat.

_What am I going to do?_ Tails forced himself to remain calm despite the perilous situation. _We're going to crash unless I do something, but what?_ He quickly rescanned his control panel, when he spotted a lever off to the side labeled HYDRO EMERGENCY 003 He weighed the risks in his head._ I haven't tested it yet. But it should work, in theory._ But he knew from experience that theory doesn't always work in the real world. That's why the lever was labeled 003. But with his three best friends in the seats behind him, did he really have a choice?

"Hold on, everyone!" he called out over the screaming of his friends. _Please work,_ he silently begged his plane, and pulled back on the lever as hard as he could.

With a mechanical groan, the plane began changing shape while still on its crazy free fall. The wings folded in slightly, the tail changed to a lower position and the underside rounded out. Its dramatic transformation sped up both its spinning and its fall with its slimmer shape. Pulling back on the joystick, he yelled out to his still screaming companions, "Everyone lean left!"

Knuckles, still hanging from the back of the seat, managed to pull himself toward the far side with a grunt of exertion and held on to the rim around the edge of the plane. Amy rolled the still unconscious Sonic over toward the left side of the plane, using the bottoms of the seats to pull herself after him.

The weight shift reduced the spin of the craft enough for Tails to gain slight control of it. "Brace for impact!" he shouted, and managed to hit the water right-side-up, albeit at an angle. The nose went under the water almost far enough for water to spill in, but popped back out like a cork and traveled forward a good ways before it ran out of momentum and slowed to a halt on the calm sea.

Everyone sat motionless, afraid to move after their perilous experience. At last, Tails was the first to react, releasing his grip on the joystick and collapsing in his seat with a sigh. "Is everyone alright?" he asked breathlessly.

"I'm... okay... I think," Knuckles answered shakily. He cautiously looked over the rim of the roofless plane as he slowly relaxed his grip on it. Only it didn't look like a plane, anymore. "You turned it into a boat?" he asked, turning to Tails.

"Yeah," he answered. "I didn't think it would work, but it came through." He patted the HYDRO EMERGENCY 003 lever lovingly. "Looks like the third time really was a charm." He then paused as he realized the lack of conversation and turned around in his seat. "Amy? Sonic? Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

"I am," answered Amy quietly. "And Knuckles seems fine too, but Sonic..." her voice trailed off.

Tail undid his seat belt and crawled over to the two hedgehogs on the floor of the plane. "What happened?"

"I don't know. When everything went crazy, he just started holding his head and groaning... like he was in pain, or something." She looked up at Tails, anxiety clearly displayed on her face. "Then he passed out and now he won't wake up." She shook Sonic's shoulder firmly and called his name, but got no response.

"I have an idea!" Knuckles declared suddenly. He learned over the rim of the boat and scooped some sea water in his massive hands, grinning mischievously. "Stand back!" he called dramatically and, despite Tails and Amy's protests, unceremoniously dumped the water over Sonic's face.

Results were immediate as Sonic coughed and spluttered and tried to roll over. He gagged on the salty water, while trying to catch his breath. When he had succeeded, he lay propped on his elbows, breathing hard.

"Sonic?" Amy tentatively put her hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

Sonic rolled over and leaded back on his elbows, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "I'm fine. What was that for?"

In response, Amy, in her relief, hugged him so suddenly and hard, he didn't have time to cry out in surprise. "Oh thank goodness! I was so scared when you didn't wake up, but you're okay now! Don't do that again! You really scared me!" she babbled.

"Good... to see... you, too!" Sonic strained against her iron-like grip. "But you're... crushing... my ribs!"

Amy reluctantly released him and he sat up with a melodramatic gasp. Amy made a face at his theatrics and he smirked back. Turning to Tails, he asked, "So, what'd I miss?"

Tails smiled back at him. Sonic could never be down for long. How could he have thought otherwise? "Well," he started, realizing how much had actually happened in the past few minutes. "We've... um... crashed," he summarized slowly. "But everybody's alright," he added hastily.

"Yeah, thanks to you!" said Amy, grinning at Tails. "You saved us!"

The young fox reddened bashfully and dropped his gaze to the floor. Sonic gave him a thumbs up. "Way to go, Tails! Where'd we land?"

"Umm..." Tails started. "Technically, we didn't _land_..." he trailed off while his eyes remained glued to the floor.

Sonic frowned "Whaddya mean?" He stood up, stepped over to the rail and froze at the sight that met him. "...Oh," he finally said.

Knuckles sorted in amusement at his reaction. Sonic shot him a sideways glare that slowly spread into a smirk. "Good to see you up and about, Sleeping Beauty," he said dryly. "Maybe you can do something useful besides snore our ears off."

"Hey! If you want, I can soak you again!" Knuckles shot back, raising a fist threateningly.

"So! It _was_ you! How about I soak you? All it'll take is one good push!" he retorted, taking a step toward the waiting echidna.

"Stop it guys!" Amy cried, trying to push her way between them.

"Yeah, calm down!" Tails piped up. "I'll go see if I can restart the Tornado and get us out of here. But you can't fight, 'cause you'll tip us!"

After another few seconds of Sonic and Knuckles glaring at each other, Sonic shrugged in agreement and looked back out at the ocean while Knuckles leaned back with a smug grin. Tails, satisfied with their cease fire, pulled the pilot's seat back and crawled under the dashboard far enough that only his lower half remained visible.

Amy stepped over to stand beside Sonic. She watched the ocean for a while before looking up at him. His eyes were focused on something beyond the horizon. She tried to follow his gaze, but all she could see was water. She looked back at Sonic. "Hey."

Sonic blinked out of his trance and stared down at her as if just noticing her. "What?"

"You sure you're okay?"

He smiled back. "Sure, I'm fine." He turned to face her and leaned on the rail casually. "Why?"

"It's just..." she started slowly. "You're acting weird. I mean, you're just staring out there." She nodded at the ocean. "What are you looking at, anyway?"

He looked out at the ocean again. "I dunno. It's like... something's out there. Something important." A wry smile spread across his face. "Something I wouldn't miss for the world if what I saw means anything."

"You saw something?" She scanned the horizon, but again, there was only water. "What? Where? I don't see anything."

"No, not now. It was when we were flying. It must have been right before the crash." His eyes narrowed slightly and he frowned in concentration as he tried to remember the painful experience. "I got really dizzy, all of a sudden. And then... I saw a bunch of pictures, or something."

"Pictures?" Amy tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What kind of pictures?"

"I'm not sure. They were really fast. And kinda blurry. There were a lot of fires and explosions, too. It actually looked like a really cool movie trailer!" he explained, grinning. Then he turned serious again. "Except it seemed so... real. I could hear someone screaming the whole time, getting louder and louder. And it was really... emotional. Almost like memories."

"Memories? As in not yours?" At his confirming nod, Amy's forehead furrowed in confusion. "But how is that possible? I mean, the screaming was probably me, but how could you get someone else's memories?"

"That's what I wanna know," answered Sonic, looking sideways at Amy with a teasing smile. "And, no, that wasn't you. Trust me. I know what you sound like." He grinned at her offended huff and received a shove from her in return. "Okay, okay," he laughed, holding his hands up in surrender before looking back at the ocean. "But I do have a feeling that the answers are out there. All I've gotta do is find 'em."

"But how do you know they're out _there_? Couldn't they be over there?" asked Amy, pointing out in the opposite direction which was just as devoid of land. "Why are you so sure it's not that way?"

"I dunno. I just do. Weird, huh?"

"More like crazy if you ask me," Knuckles put in suddenly. "First you're seeing things, then you're hearing things and now you think we should just go in some random direction because you feel like it. You must've hit your head or something when the plane started spinning."

Amy tried to hide her amusement behind her hand, but couldn't suppress a small giggle. "Well, when you put it that way, it does sound pretty weird."

Sonic had to smile too. It did sound odd. "Maybe you're right. But what have we got to lose going that way? Unless you know where we are and how to get to land, what difference does it make which way we go?"

Just then, a cry could be heard from the front of the Tornado, any words made unintelligible by the loud bang that accompanied it. It was followed immediately by scuffling sounds and Tails tried to emerge from his cramped workplace. All three passengers turned to the noise, each with a different translation of it.

"_What's_ wrong?" Amy inquired with concern.

"_What_ dog?" Sonic asked, frowning in confusion.

"_Whose_ mom?" Knuckles demanded accusingly.

Tails pulled himself out and turned to his confused friends. "It's gone!" he exclaimed, eyes wide with panic. "The Chaos Emerald! It's gone!"

"WHAT?" was the immediate response. It was no small fact that Tails had learned how to harness the incredible power of one of the seven Chaos Emeralds and commonly used one to power his inventions. But he was usually very careful with them, even when he crashed, and gave them a protective compartment to prevent them from getting lost if and when the worst happened.

"I saw it from under there, but I'll show you here!" He spun his tails rapidly and lifted into the air like a helicopter. He flew over the front of the craft and hovered over the propeller. In the center of it, there was a glass case that usually glowed with the almost limitless energy a Chaos Emerald provided. But now it was empty, the glass glinting in the strong sunlight. "It's not even broken. The emerald's just gone!" he explained.

They all stared at the empty container in bewilderment. Finally, Knuckles wondered aloud, "But how? Where could it have gone?"

"Could it have landed in the ocean?" asked Sonic, glancing at the peaceful sea.

"Maybe it had something to do with that sound," offered Amy.

Tails landed in front of them. "Sound? What sound?" he asked, looking somewhat confused.

"That crashing sound just now. Right before you came out."

"Oh," Tails blinked in comprehension. Then he lowered his eyes and an embarrassed smile formed on his face. "Uh, no, that was me. I, uh, hit my head on some loose metal when I found out the emerald was gone." Then he looked anxiously at Sonic. "What're we gonna do? Without the Chaos Emerald, I can't restart the plane. Not with enough power to get us airborne, anyway." He paused for a moment, then his eyes widened with realization. "We could be stuck here."

Everyone remained silent for a few seconds while this fact sunk in. Finally, Sonic brought up a good point. "Who says we have to fly? We're in a boat now, right?"

"Well," started Tails thoughtfully. "I might be able to power a basic propulsion system. But which way do we go? We were thrown way off course by the crash, and the navigation system's completely offline. We could wind up even more lost than we are now."

"I'm pretty sure there's some land that way," said Sonic, pointed out at the empty horizon.

"Really?" Tails' hopeful gaze followed Sonic's finger. "Great! Where?"

Behind them, Knuckles snickered.

"You can't see it. It's too far out," Sonic started to explain. "I just know it's out there."

Tails looked at him, cocking his head in innocent confusion. "How do you know?"

"While we were crashing, I think I saw someone's memories, or something. And now I'm pretty sure that something's out there and that might mean land."

"He's crazy!" Knuckles coughed none-too-subtly.

Sonic shot him a glare. "Shut up, Snore-a-lot! How are we gonna know unless we try?"

"I believe you, Sonic," said Amy encouragingly.

"I think I believe you, too," said Tails. "You see, I think we crashed because of a power surge. I'm usually pretty good at detecting them before they happen, but this one was different. There wasn't even a warning and it was much stronger than any I've ever seen." He frowned slightly. "It... It was almost as if there was an external stimulus. Er, I mean something that activated it from a distance," he explained to his perplexed friends. "If there was, then it might have affected the other emeralds, too."

This last bit got Knuckles' attention. "What about the Master Emerald?" he asked urgently. As the guardian of the Master Emerald's shrine, it was his responsibility to ensure gem's safety. No one had ever questioned him about this, and he took this responsibility very seriously.

Tails nodded slowly in response. "Possibly. Especially since whatever caused the power surge seems to have also triggered a Chaos Control."

"Chaos Control?" echoed Sonic. The Chaos Control was a breach of time and space that allowed the holder of a Chaos Emerald to warp great distances in an instant. It was this quality that made the Chaos Emeralds so much different from regular gemstones.

"I don't see how else the emerald would just disappear. It might also explain what happened to you," he continued, nodding at Sonic. "If this outside force was strong enough to cause a Chaos Control it may have also done weird things to you since you were so close to the emerald."

"Okay..." Sonic nodded slowly in understanding. "But why me? Why was I the only one who saw or felt anything?" He paused as a thought came to him. "Unless anyone else saw anything...?"

Knuckles shrugged. "I was too busy trying not to get thrown out of the plane."

"I didn't see anything either," added Amy.

"Me neither." Tails thought for a bit. "Maybe it's because of how close you are to the Chaos Emeralds." he started slowly. "I mean, you're the only one here who actually changes in physical appearance when you absorb the energy of all seven of them. And the number of times you've turned Super in the past couple of years might make you more susceptible to major shifts in the emeralds' equilibrium." He nodded in the direction Sonic had indicated. "I don't know about what you saw, but what you feel over there may be something closely related to this whole situation. Maybe even whatever it was that caused it." He smiled at Sonic. "And that might mean land. I think we should go for it."

Sonic grinned eagerly. "Alright! What are we waiting for?"

Tails pulled up on a section of floor, causing it to flip over. The underside of the panel looked quite different from the top side. It had a tough-looking material coating it, as well as wires, straps and wheels connected to parts of it, and it stood a little higher than the rest of the floor. He loosened a few straps and hooked up the wheels so it would move around in a loop. He connected wires to it and to other wires and stood back to observe his adjustments.

"There! All set!" he announced cheerfully.

Sonic recognized the device and frowned disapprovingly. "A treadmill. You've got to be kidding me."

"It's for emergency power," Tails explained. "The rotational motion powers the propeller. I can steer up here." He sat down in the pilot's seat.

Sonic groaned. Knuckles suddenly spoke up. "What's wrong? I thought you liked running!"

Amy patted Sonic on the back. "C'mon," she gently chided him. "The faster you swallow your pride, the faster we get there. Now get going!"

"Fine." Sonic stepped onto the device facing Tails.

"No, the other way," he corrected. "We're in a boat now; the propeller's at the back."

Sonic turned around and saw Amy and Knuckles seated in front of him; Amy waving cheerfully, Knuckles smiling smugly behind her.

"All right!" called Tails. "Ready when you are!"

Sonic _was_ ready, and he proved it with a sudden jump up to what he considered a good speed. The motor revved and roared to life, and suddenly jerked ahead, violently throwing the seated passengers forward in their seats. Everybody but Knuckles had their seat belts fastened, so he suffered the most, crashing face-first into the back of Amy's seat.

After quickly checking to see if they were all right, Sonic grinned widely at them. "What'sa matter? I'm not even going half speed!"

This was met by annoyed glares that meant he would be forgiven eventually. He laughed them off and spun around to face Tails while effortlessly maintaining his speed, even though he had started running backwards. The young fox was trying to regain his balance after the sudden jolt of speed.

"Hey, Tails!" Sonic called out. "We're going the wrong way!" He pointed to his left, toward the empty horizon. "It's that way! Turn us around!"

Tails complied, turning in a slow arc. Sonic directed him as he was the only one who knew where to go. "More... A little more," he said, turning around again. Then, satisfied with their direction, he suddenly called out, "Perfect!" and put on another burst of speed, much to the discomfort of his friends.

He laughed aloud, thoroughly enjoying the freedom he always felt when he ran. Even though it _was _a treadmill, and he wasn't used to the wavy up and down motion of the boat, it was better than sitting around doing nothing. After all, the treadmill could be easily forgotten if he didn't think about it, and the ocean had a pattern to it; not the solid rhythm of the land, but a much more fluid wave. And he was heading toward something big – he could feel it. He was homing in on a whole new adventure, perhaps his biggest one yet, and every step brought him closer to it – even though he _was_ on a treadmill.

His excited thoughts were interrupted by an annoyed Knuckles. "Are we there yet?" he asked grumpily.

Sonic sighed. Maybe the boat ride wouldn't be all that exciting after all.

* * *

The eerie silence of the jungle was broken only by the piercing shriek of a lone tropical bird. The sound hung in the air for several seconds before it was answered by another louder, though not as sharp, call from some other animal. The ferns, rooted stubbornly to the ground, rustled loudly as something lumbered through them. High overhead, monkeys chattered and whooped triumphantly as they reclaimed the leafy branches that made up the canopy. Insects buzzed purposefully, birds squawked proudly and those higher up balanced precariously on thin branches, cheating death as the jungle resumed its temporarily interrupted lifestyle.

As this portion of the rainforest swelled with the joy of rediscovered abundance, there was an invisible boundary which no creature dared to cross. Even in the noise of the jubilee, there was an underlying sense of tension. Every now and then, a nervous glance was aimed at a thin pillar of smoke spiraling up towards the cloudless sky.

A radius of charred debris stretched for almost a mile around the source of the smoke, the remains of a large building that sat in the unnatural clearing. The blackened landscape was a smoking scar that appeared from a distance to be devoid of life. There was a definite line surrounding the clearing where it abruptly became jungle again, every leaf coated with a layer of fine, black dust.

The clearing, however, was not as lifeless as it seemed to be. On closer inspection, small metallic bodies could be seen aimlessly wandering around near the burned building, some seemingly determined to run into every obstacle they came across, others twitching erratically at random intervals, while a few would periodically stop for no reason and look around in blank confusion.

Standing a good ways off, observing the scene with critical disapproval, stood the only actually living thing in the clearing. His arms were folded across his chest, and a deep frown was planted under an impressive red mustache, the only bit of hair on his head. He drummed his fingers on his arms impatiently, muttering curses under his breath about the existence of blue hedgehogs.

He glanced up when he noticed a lone robot slowly stumbling in his direction, holding something in its hands. It was a steely gray, with yellow stripes along its limbs. It was the typical roundness that all of the robots shared, and it stood about three and a half feet tall. There was a red illustration of its master's face stamped on its chest, but it was smudged out almost beyond recognition.

A look of relief momentarily crossed the man's face, but was then replaced by an impatient scowl. He snatched the item out of the damaged robot's hands when it had drawn near, causing it to trip up awkwardly. "Took you long enough!" he snapped at it. It didn't reply, as its head had been blown off, the exposed wires underneath sparking irregularly.

The man stared down fondly at his prize: a softly glowing, blue gem. _The Chaos Emerald!_ he silently gloated. _At least that rat didn't get a hold of this!_ He grinned triumphantly at this one, small victory amid the aftermath of destructive defeat around him. He could rebuild; that wasn't the hard part. It was the plotting, the scheming, the ingenious plan that would allow him to gain the power and respect he deserved.

A genius, like him, should be in charge; he had concluded that year ago. It was only a matter of getting there. True, his methods were rather extreme at times, but didn't all great leaders struggle to achieve power? He knew if he hung on long enough, he would get what he wanted, and he figured it was only a matter of time before a certain blue pest made a mistake, and then he would have his chance! Once Sonic and his vermin friends were disposed of, no force on Mobius would hinder him from achieving his ultimate goal.

"Dr. Eggman?" a tentative, mechanical voice spoke up behind him.

He stiffened at the mention of his accursed nickname; a title given to him by his nemesis that had stuck. Normally, he wouldn't have minded the name; he often used it himself, naming several of his greater inventions after it. But now he wasn't in the greatest of moods, and he needed something to take out his frustration on.

Whirling around to face the robot, he glared menacingly at it from behind his small, black glasses. "That's Dr. Robotnik to you! Remember that, and maybe I won't have to dissect you for extra parts!" he shouted in its face.

The robot took several steps back in surprise, bumping into the headless robot and causing both to fall in a jumbled heap. Eggman pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation. He would really have to improve the competence of his workforce. "What do you want, R.I.G.?" he asked impatiently.

The Receptive Information Gizmo, or R.I.G., was quite different from the other robot. It was taller and thinner, more cylindrical than round and it was a dull metallic blue all over. Its eyes, a wide, black screen with green lights, flickered rapidly as it stared back at the doctor. His face was also depicted on its torso in red, clearer than on the headless one, but still faded. It struggled to an upright position and stood shakily on its only remaining foot. "Damage report, Dr. Robotnik, sir!" it announced from a nonexistent mouth, trying to avoid another blast of temper.

Eggman frowned impatiently. "Isn't it obvious what's destroyed?" He gestured at the smoking factory. "I want to know what's salvageable! I want to get what's usable and get out of here!"

"Y-yes sir!" stammered R.I.G.. The screen that represented its eyes displayed a series of dots as it searched its data banks. "Uh... Er... About 22% are still functional... and approximately 8% are responsive to orders, sir," it reported nervously as its eyes returned to the screen.

Eggman blinked in surprise. He had expected more than that to have made it through the explosion. He dreaded the answer to his next question. "How many are near or at full working order? In total?"

"Umm..." R.I.G. mumbled as it calculated the value the doctor had asked for. The headless robot, who had by now regained its footing, held up two metal fingers. R.I.G. nodded in agreement. "Yes. Two," it said simply.

Eggman blinked again. "Percent?"

"Units."

It took a moment for the genius to wrap his mind around this miniscule value. "That's it?" he managed to ask.

"Yes, sir," R.I.G. replied. "Myself and this unit here, combat droid 239."

The robot in question pointed at the space where its head should have been and shrugged expressively.

"Headless piece of scrap metal," muttered Eggman disapprovingly.

"An inaccurate observation, sir," corrected R.I.G.. "239 is an experimental combat droid that possesses a new weapon design that so far has passed all tests with flying colors. We're quite fortunate that it's still completely functional... except, of course, for its head. That statement, at least, was correct."

Eggman ignored the robot and stared down at the emerald in his hand. He had three things left after the explosion: two broken robots and a Chaos Emerald. Sonic had done a good job, he had to admit. He was actually amazed the entire rainforest hadn't caught on fire. There had to be more left; the explosion hadn't been _that_ bad.

"Are you sure there's nothing left worth saving?" he asked hopefully.

"Several units are still functional, and there is plenty of salvageable materials, as well as-" its report was cut off by 239 who had started running around in erratic circles with its arms spread out. One of its arms hit R.I.G. and sent it into a spin which knocked it flat. It grunted upon impact, then held up a finger triumphantly. "Oh, yes! The Egg Stormer only suffered minor damage and will soon be ready to fly, sir!"

When it heard this, the headless robot stopped running around and instead began jumping up and down, clapping its hands like a delighted child. After several seconds of this, it stopped and then held out its arms out in front of it, stepping in a slow circle, searching blindly for its companions.

Eggman brightened considerably. With the Egg Stormer intact, they could get out of this miserable jungle with everything worth saving, and in style! "Good! Begin loading anything useful onto the Stormer!"

"Already underway, sir!" R.I.G. reported, happy to be useful. It shakily stood up and saluted enthusiastically. "We should be ready to fly in approximately half an hour, if things stay on schedule."

Eggman nodded approvingly. It wasn't as fast as he had hoped, but considering the situation, he was lucky to even have the Stormer. "Good. Continue."

R.I.G. saluted again, causing a weakened joint in its shoulder to disconnect and fall to the ground, arm and all. It stared blankly at the severed limb before carefully stooping to pick it up.

The doctor stared down at his emerald, plotting his next move. The radioactive gem glowed gently, giving off a peaceful, blue light. The calming color was a deceptive disguise of its true power – almost limitless and able to grant its possessor extraordinary powers, especially if one possessed all seven. Of course, it did not lend these powers to just anyone. He himself had had more than one of these emeralds in his possession many times, and had not benefited once from them. He had, however discovered ways to harness their energy, but not in the natural way he had seen in others.

He had theorized a genetic quality that that granted access to the emeralds' energy. He obviously did not have this quality, or whatever it was; and it was possible that humans couldn't get it at all. But his had seen his long-time rival Sonic turn into his Super Form more times than he cared to count. Shadow, too, but he was also able to activate a Chaos Control without even having one of the powerful jewels. Even Tails and Knuckles had turned Super once. This could mean that their animal DNA had something to do with their apparent connection to the emeralds. Or perhaps it could be as simple as knowing a magic word. Whatever it was, it had foiled his plans time and time again, even with his superior intellect and ambition.

A harsh blue light suddenly given off by the emerald in his hand interrupted his chain of thought. He squinted at it with cautious curiosity. He was unable to do so for very long, however, before it began burning his hand, shooting painful bursts of energy up his arm in quick succession. He yelled out in pain and dropped the reactive stone, pulling his arm back reflexively. The emerald fell, spinning through the air, letting off a final burst of light and vanishing before it hit the ground.

Eggman stared blankly at the empty space that should have been occupied by the Chaos Emerald. "A... Chaos Control...?" he wondered aloud. Could he have pulled it off? No, that was impossible. Besides, he hadn't done anything. Then what could have triggered it?

"Dr. Egg... er... Robotnik!" R.I.G. called out as it stumbled toward him, still holding its broken off arm in its good one. "Are you alright?"

He ignored the question. "Did you see that? What just happened?" he demanded.

"Judging by the energy readings, I can conclude that a Chaos Control was activated."

Eggman snorted impatiently. "I figured that. What activated it? And where did it go?" He thought for moment. "Do a long range scan for stronger sources of similar patterns. Maximum range. Now."

R.I.G. flinched. "Maximum range! But sir! At that range, I won't be able to detect anything less th-"

"Shut up and scan."

"...Yes, sir." R.I.G. straightened, still gripping its arm tightly, and tilted its head upwards. Its eye screen changed to a series of dots again and a panel on its torso flipped over, revealing a TV screen. The words MAX RANGE flashed in one corner, an energy wave simulation in another. The screen pulsed a green light from the center outwards, like a radar screen.

Eggman watched the screen with intense concentration, waiting for something to appear. He didn't have to wait long, as something flashed red. It was a small, round shape, shrinking with every second, but the fact that it had shown up at all meant a massive amount of energy. Maybe even more powerful than all seven Chaos Emeralds combined.

A fiendish smile spread across his face as he touched the center of the red blob, bringing up the coordinates. It wasn't far from his current location. Just a few hundred miles north. "Forget loading. We're leaving for these coordinates now."

"Yes sir!" R.I.G. quipped obediently, deactivating its radar while its eyes returned to its screen. It quickly reconnected its arm, grabbed the aimlessly wandering robot and pointed it towards the airship, leaning heavily on it for support.

Eggman was watching the smoldering remains of his factory, smiling with the underlying insanity that often accompanies the mentally gifted. _Think this will stop me Sonic? Think again. Soon, you'll be the one smoldering in defeat, and I'll be there to gloat over it. And that's a promise. _His silent vow brought about a dark chuckle before he began walking towards the Stormer, leaving the wounded landscape behind him.

* * *

The bright lights of the emergency vehicles flashed brightly in the intersection. The accident had happened in broad daylight with perfect driving conditions. Impatience and carelessness had been the main causes of the crash. Policemen were trying to direct the built up traffic around the four twisted cars, while paramedics were loading the injured passengers into the waiting ambulances.

He leaned up against the wall of a nearby ally, watching the scene with a cold scowl. They were so pathetic, their attempts at organizing this mess as feeble as anything they tried to do. He hated them; hated their self-proclaimed superiority; hated the way they benefited from others' suffering, even amongst their own. He would be doing the world a favor by getting rid of most of them, useless parasites that they were. And yet he couldn't, if only because of _her_.

_She_ had befriended him when no one else would. _She_ had taught him the value of life. _She_ represented everything good about humanity.

And _they_ had destroyed her.

He turned down the alley and moved away from the noise of the intersection. He reminded himself that he had left his past behind him. What little he remembered was too painful to pursue, and he only became more confused when he tried.

She was dead. She had been for over 50 years. Few, if any, were still alive that had known her. He was one of them, but he barely remembered what she looked like, never mind anything about her. But he still felt regret and pain whenever he thought about her and the promise he had made as she lay dying before him.

"Give them a chance to be happy," she had begged him. Not revenge, as he had once thought. Not the deaths of her murderers. She had asked him to help out the monsters who had killed her.

And he had agreed. He refused to fail her again.

He reached the end of the alley and the strong sunlight illuminated the red highlights in his black quills. His ruby eyes quickly adjusted to the bright light and he slowly walked up the street. He didn't have anywhere in particular to go; he rarely did. That was his problem.

He was Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life Form, and yet he didn't really have a purpose. He'd been told several different reasons for his existence that made less sense than his memories. He'd been called a killer, a hero, even an android. They were all wrong though. Killers don't save people. Heroes don't harm innocents. Androids don't bleed.

No one could tell him what he was or what to do. He would find the answers himself or not at all.

He looked up and noticed that his feet had taken him to the sandy Whiteshore beach. It stretched as far as he could see along the coast, and the tranquil ocean gently stroked the sand where they met. Hundreds of people were crowded on the beach, thoroughly enjoying the beautiful weather.

Shadow walked to a nearby palm and leaned on it in the shade it provided. It had been planted in a small patch of dirt that had been cut out of the concrete slab that separated the city from the beach. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched the scene in his usual, silent way. It had occurred to him more than once that not all humans were heartless killers. After all, _she_ had been a human. Maybe there was hope for them if people like her existed.

But whenever he thought that, he remembered her death and any redeeming thoughts about humans were instantly drowned in a wave of hate. There had been no remorse, no hesitation, just cold-blooded murder of an innocent girl.

He closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. He _had_ to stop doing that. Lingering on the past was pointless. It was over, she was dead, _move on._ He had been going around in circles for a year now, ending up farther behind than when he started. He needed a purpose; a reason for being. He needed to find his own path and follow it, never looking back or regretting his choices.

But what could he do? He could try to be a hero, but he didn't like to get involved in things that didn't concern him. He had helped out the military before, but only when it involved one of the very few people he could call a friend, Rouge the Bat. He didn't want power, either; he was already the Ultimate Life Form. What he did want, though, was the problem. He didn't know what he wanted, but once he did, he would be able to pull himself off the ground and get on with his life.

He opened his eyes and stared out at the calm ocean. The world was a beautiful place, in spite of what the humans did to it. It was worth saving, he had been shown that 50 years ago. He had done his best several times to save the world when it needed him. But it wasn't in peril all the time. There was so much more he could do, but how far was he willing to go?

A sudden rush of energy sent a painful shiver throughout his entire body and jerked his thoughts into the present. He inhaled sharply and staggered slightly as he tried to regain his balance. He barely had time to wonder what happened before another wave of energy hit him head-on. He fell back against the palm tree and instinctively held on to remain upright.

Closing his eyes tight and hissing through his teeth, Shadow bracingly endured the sudden agony burning through his body. His head spun and his stomach rolled nauseously. Images flashed behind his eyelids, causing a stabbing pain with each one.

He thought he recognized the feeling from the flashbacks he occasionally had. But none of the images looked at all familiar. And none of his previous flashbacks had ever been this intense or painful. He managed to pry one of his hands off of the tree and pressed it against the pressure building behind his forehead in an attempt to ease it somehow.

The images were based on a colorful desert landscape, each filled with a horrifying scene of destruction or desolation. A column of light from the sky struck a palace, causing an explosion that completely destroyed it. Then the scene skipped to a burning city, the smoke silhouetted against a setting sun. Then, two cloaked figures fled across a desert wasteland under a moonless night sky.

Another surge hit Shadow hard, forcing him to his knees. The pain and the images came harder and faster, confusing him more and more.

_These can't be memories_, some part of his brain managed to reason. _Or, at least, not mine..._ His thoughts were cut off as a new kind of energy rushed through him. It felt familiar, and it flowed much more naturally than the other had. _Chaos!_ he realized with relief. It was the same energy he felt when he used Chaos Control, a unique ability that allowed him to warp through time and space.

He tried to use this energy to strengthen himself, managing to stand up again, but the other energy returned just as suddenly as before and he collapsed on the ground, gripping his agonized head. He grunted in pain through clenched teeth as the pictures in his head changed again. Claws. Teeth. Glowing, yellow reptilian eyes.

An overall felling of terror grew as they flashed faster and faster. And somebody was _screaming_. The high-pitched terrified sound was getting louder and louder, almost becoming more painful than everything else. It coincided with the memories, the emotions, the energy and the pain; swirling through him like a fire in his bloodstream. It increased in intensity with each beat of his racing heart. He tried to endure it, but it was too much, too fast and he finally allowed himself to crash into the abysmal void of unconsciousness.

. . . . .

Something nudged his elbow.

He cracked open a crimson eye and slowly searched for whatever it was that had touched him. Noticing the movement, a startled seagull that stood next to him looked up at him curiously. Shadow stared back at it for a second before he frowned in annoyance and feigned a lunge at it, scaring it away.

He slowly got to his feet, using the tree to balance himself. He was dizzy, and he felt a numbing tingle all over. At least the pain was gone, along with everything else. He turned to look at the people on the beach. They looked the same now as they had before, apparently unaffected by the energy wave. _It figures,_ he thought with a scowl. _Humans don't notice anything beyond their own noses._ But why had it affected only him?

He looked beyond the people to watch the ocean again. Something was different about it now, even though it looked exactly the same. He felt something out there, something compelling him to follow it to its source. And he felt something inside him want to.

He frowned in confusion and annoyance. _Why would I have this... connection to the ocean all of a sudden?_ he wondered silently. His eyes lifted slightly to the horizon and he realized it.

It wasn't the ocean. It was _beyond_ the ocean.

He noticed that whatever was affecting him now was coming from the same direction the energy had. He looked back at the humans again. They still weren't doing anything different. Only he could feel the call. No, more than a call. A summons.

He couldn't ignore it. He _had _to respond, there was no argument. It was gentle, but urgent, and some subconscious desire to follow it to its source overpowered everything else.

Obviously something – or someone – wanted his attention. And they knew how to get it.

Shadow smirked in dark amusement. He could play along for a while, make them think he was under their control, and then show them exactly what they had gotten themselves into. After all, he wasn't the Ultimate Life Form for nothing.

Besides, he might be able to benefit from this. At least it was something to do.

He fired up his rocket skates and shoved off from the sturdy palm tree. He stayed parallel to the coast, following the concrete pathway. He needed transportation to cross the sea, and he needed it before the inner longing drove him insane.

When he spotted the city's harbor, he felt a sense of satisfaction and another smirk spread across his face. "Perfect," he said smugly. "You'd think they were waiting for me."

He sped towards it, effortlessly dodging the pedestrians that were stupid enough to get in his way. He scanned the boats tied up at the dock, looking for the fastest one. They all looked the same: big, slow cruisers that wouldn't get him anywhere anytime soon. He growled in frustration as he passed yet another tour ship swarming with people getting on and off. Didn't they make any other kinds of boats?

He skidded to a sudden halt as he spotted a small motor boat tied up between two larger cruise ships. It was black with lightning bolts painted on its sides, and its sleek shape and overly large outboard motors made it look _fast_; definitely able to run circles around anything else in the harbor. It was exactly what he needed.

He couldn't believe his luck. There were only three teenagers standing around it, looking bored. He couldn't help smiling darkly as he stepped behind some nearby crates and silently approached them.

They obviously hadn't noticed him yet as they began talking. "Where's Jake? He's been gone long enough, now," complained one of them, his arms folded across the skull on his black t-shirt.

"Shut up!" snapped a boy whose face was covered with metal studs. "He'll get here. And when he does, we'll be out before the cops knew what hit 'em."

The third boy, the smallest one, looked up at metal-face. "But what if he got caught? He'd totally rat us out! Just like he did to Phil!"

Metal-face rolled his eyes. "Phil chickened out. If he had done his job, he'd still be here. Besides, Jake won't get caught. He's a pro at this. Even if the cops are after him, we'll be gone before they get here. Bolt's the fastest thing that floats."

"Bolt? Is that really the best you can come up with?" commented Shadow from where he leaned on one of the crates.

The three boys whirled around to face the intruder. The boy in the skull t-shirt held a knife. "I don't know you came from, but you're gonna wish you'd stayed there, Shorty," he said threateningly.

Shadow almost laughed. "Shorty? A knife? Who exactly do you think you're dealing with? Just step away from the boat and I won't have to cause any permanent damage." He began advancing slowly towards them.

The boys exchanged looks, but held their ground, taking aggressive stances. The amused smirk left Shadow's face, frustrated bared teeth replacing it. He didn't have time for this. He sped up his advancement. The urgency in the call was becoming maddening, and these three kids were the only things standing between him and its source. "Get out of my way!" he snarled threateningly.

The boys translated this as a challenge and, with confident grins, all charged at the lone hedgehog. They soon realized the foolishness of their strategy as Shadow's frustrated snarl became a cold, emotionless frown. He grabbed the stud-faced boy and easily threw him hard into the smallest boy. They crashed into one of the crates and remained there, groaning in shock and pain.

The last boy held his knife high and brought it down hard, aiming for Shadow's head. It didn't even come close to its target before his gloved hand shot up and grabbed the boy's bare wrist, stopping it effortlessly in mid-swing. His face stripped of emotion and void of mercy, Shadow squeezed hard, digging his fingers into the exposed wrist. With a yelp of pain, the boy quickly released his weapon. Catching it in his free hand, Shadow threw the disarmed teenager to the ground and pressed it to his throat.

He stared into the boy's wide brown eyes and allowed a cruel smirk to return to his face. "Short I may be, but at least I have the intelligence to know not to pick a fight with the Ultimate Life Form." In an inhumanly fast movement, he flipped the knife around in his hand and brought the handle down hard on the back of the boy's head, knocking him out instantly.

Shadow rose and headed toward the tied up speedboat. He slashed through the connecting rope and jumped onto the deck. The key was already in the ignition, left there in preparation of the boys' leader's return. Whoever this Jake was, he hadn't made a great choice in followers.

Loud sirens screamed behind him, but it was the loud curse that followed that caused him to turn around. A man sprinting towards him, a bag in one hand, a gun in the other – pointed at him.

Evidently, Jake didn't like people stealing his boat.

Sizing up the situation in an instant, Shadow leaped high into the air, dodging two fired shots and completed several flips in mid-air before landing in a crouch, glaring straight at the armed human.

Jake hesitated and slowed to a stop ten feet in front of the black hedgehog. He glanced at the three wounded boys, then back at Shadow and raised the gun again. "You might have taken those idiots out, but you won't stop me!" He inhaled sharply as he heard brakes squealing behind him, the sirens now deafening. "Get away from the boat, and I might let you live," he threatened, fingering the trigger.

"Hm." Shadow slowly rose to his feet. He stared straight into the man's eyes. "We're both in a hurry, so I'll make this brief. No one tells me what to do. Especially not some_ human _who can't even organize a group of kids!"

The two shots that Jake fired hit only air.

Shadow had jumped onto one of the nearby crates and, in one fluid motion, spun around and threw his lethal projectile at the bewildered human's weapon. It hit target directly, knocking the gun out of Jake's hand with perfect accuracy. Jake cried out in surprise and turned to face his opponent. However, he failed to keep his chest guarded so Shadow, already skating at full speed towards him, sprang into the air and flipped backwards, slamming his feet into Jake's unprotected chest.

The force of this connection sent both of them in opposite directions Shadow bounced backward and did two back flips before landing flawlessly on the concrete dock. Jake flew backward and smashed through a produce crate, spilling fruit, as well as the contents of the bag he had held. Gold, silver and jewels mixed with the apples, bananas and melons; all spread around the half-conscious criminal.

The entire incident had lasted less than two minutes.

Shouts and running feet added to the noise of the sirens, but they couldn't drown out the overpowering sensation inside of him to _go._ His skates boosted him toward the little boat, sending fruit and jewelry flying with the shock wave they created. He leaped into it and forced the engine on, its roar drowning out any protests from behind. He jerked the throttle to full and sped out of the harbor in a matter of seconds. It wasn't difficult to control the speedboat, so he easily directed it where his sixth sense indicated.

He shook his head in annoyance and disgust as he sped towards his unknown destination. _That_ had been a complete waste of time and energy. At least now he could focus on whatever it was that demanded his presence.

A hundred questions passed through his mind. What was waiting for him? Why had it only affected him? Why was he even responding?

_Questions without answers. Problems without solutions. Mysteries with no one to untangle them, _he mentally concluded. "Story of my life," he said quietly.

He suddenly snorted and shoved his self-pity aside. He'd done that enough lately. He was moving on. He had a purpose now, even if it was only a temporary one. But even that was better than before.

And he _would_ find answers. He would learn the truth by himself or die trying. That was one promise he knew he could keep.

* * *

**AN: **Whew! That was a long chapter, wasn't it? Expect all of them to be this long.

If they don't seem to be in character, I apologize. I tried, and I've only played the games, never read the comics. If there's something I should edit, please let me know, and I'll fix it.

R&R please!


	3. A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

**A.N.: **Wow. That didn't take as long as I thought it would. Cool.

Anyways, I just wanna give a big thank you Kermita so for all her support. Cammie Strone and Eve Royal, too, for all their support and tolerating my fangirlyness, but especially Kermita because I don't know her and she read this anyways. Thanks so, so, sooooo much!

So, uhhh, basic disclaimer. I don't own Sonic, Mobius, characters blah blah blah same old, same old. Sega can have 'em. OC's are mine, though, as are the area names I came with, property of You Can Call Me Nora. So there. Ppbbbbth!

Speaking of which, if they seem a bit out of character, lemme know, and I'll see if I can fix them in later chapters. You gotta let me know what's wrong in order for me to fix 'em, though.

* * *

Chapter 2 – A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

A small island steadily grew larger on the horizon as the small, blue boat sped towards it. The four castaways on board eagerly anticipated stepping onto dry land after over an hour of travel. Even Knuckles dropped his usual gruffness and stretched out again on the back seat.

Tails had stepped over to the side of the plane to see the island and looked over at Sonic in admiration. He had been sprinting at an incredible speed for over an hour straight and he wasn't even breathing hard. And he had pointed them toward land that none of them had known was there. How had he known? And why had he insisted on coming here? He had said he _had_ to go there, as if failing to do so was not an option. Nobody understood what it meant, but it had led them to land. Maybe it would lead them to some answers as well.

"What's up?" Sonic's inquiry broke through his thoughts. He looked back up to see his friend smirking at him. "You're kinda zoned out there. You okay?"

Tails smiled reassuringly at him. "Uh-huh. I was just wondering how you knew that was there." He pointed ahead at the island, which was quickly getting closer.

Sonic looked at it and frowned thoughtfully. "I dunno. It's like something's waiting for us." He turned back to his friend, grinning eagerly. "Only one way to find out what!"

"Well, maybe we should approach it carefully," suggested Amy. "I mean, if whatever it was could activate a Chaos Control from _that_ far away, it could be really dangerous."

"Ha!" laughed Knuckles from the seat next to hers. "You're asking _Sonic_ to be _careful_? That's a good one."

"Hey! I'm always careful!" objected Sonic.

"Uh-huh."

"Amy has a point," brought up Tails. "It could be a trap, especially since you seem to be so drawn to it. I think we should stay on guard, at least."

Sonic waved then off. "Yeah, yeah. But who says we can't have a bit of fun at the same time?" He gave them a quizzical look. "Since when are you guys so paranoid, anyway?"

"Since whatever it was that attacked you knocked you out in less than a minute," answered Amy sharply.

Sonic shrugged dismissively. "So I didn't expect it. I'll be more careful next time."

"I thought you were always careful," challenged Knuckles.

"I am," returned Sonic simply. He nodded at the island looming ahead. "We're almost there guys. Now the fun begins!"

The island was rather large with a huge mountain rising out of the middle of it, making it seem even bigger. A thick jungle grew all around it and abruptly stopped at a beach that ran the circumference of the island. Seagulls floated lazily on the tropical breeze that gently stirred the leafy branches of the palm trees.

It looked completely deserted.

"It's so beautiful," said Amy.

"And the volcano adds a nice touch," added Tails.

"Volcano?" echoed Knuckles, twisting around for a better look. "It isn't smoking. It's just a mountain."

Tails shook his head. "This part of the world is full of volcanoes. Any island you see around here was probably formed by one, and likely consists of one. Earthquakes and eruptions are pretty common around here due to all the tectonic activity."

"Tick-tock-_what?_" asked Knuckles in utter confusion. Then he shook his head. "Never mind. Just tell me if that volcano's gonna blow up on us or not."

Tails shrugged. "Can't say. But even if it is active, we should be okay until I can fix the Tornado."

Sonic was ecstatic. "Wow! First a plane crash, then a mysterious energy source and now volcanoes and explosions! Can this day get any better?"

Just then, the boat bucked abruptly as it struck something in the water with a loud _crunch!_ It swerved sharply to the right, throwing Sonic completely off balance. He let out a yelp of panic as he stumbled and tried to recover. However, it wasn't enough, and he fell forward on the still spinning treadmill. "Aaaaaah-!" he cried out as it shot him back into the pilot's seat which, fortunately, was facing him.

The other passengers were also thrown by the sudden impact. Amy was saved from being tossed overboard by the rim of the boat, which she grabbed for dear life. Tails went sailing into Knuckles, who was already well braced for the accident. His combat reflexes aroused, Knuckles shoved the fox off of him with enough force to send him back to the front of the boat. He hit the control panel a split second after Sonic had landed in the pilot's seat. As he staggered to his feet, his hand settled on a small, round button labeled EJECT.

Sonic was just regaining his breath when the overtightly wound chair he was sprawled on was fired skyward. All he could do was scream and cling to it as the ground fell away from him. As he neared the peak of his flight and began the inevitable descent, he looked down and grinned in delight. The speed and the thrill was what he lived for, waiting until the last second before pulling back.

As he was planning how exactly he was going to do this without killing himself, the chair jerked with enough force that he lost his grip and fell off it. As he tumbled into space he caught a glimpse of it floating slowly downward via a parachute that had appeared out of it. He paled with dread as he realized that now nothing separated him from the ground below, and as the ground rushed toward him he pinwheeled his arms in a panicked attempt to slow his fall while yelling out at the top of his lungs.

Tails had seen Sonic take off and was watching him in horror when the boat hit another obstacle with another sudden jolt. He managed to stay upright, and then reached for the joystick. As he steered for shore, the boat scraped noisily along what he assumed to be a reef, making controlling it even harder. The friction slowed the ship considerably and, for a moment, it looked as though it wouldn't make it when a good sized wave carried the damaged craft over the reef and onto the sandy beach.

"Whew. Made it."

"…AAAAAAH-!" _FUMP!_

All three heads perked up and turned to the sound that had greeted them. What they saw after the cloud of sand cleared was Sonic sprawled in the sand, his face buried under the gritty substance. His feet stuck up in the air for a second before dropping limply to the ground.

"Ouch," commented Knuckles with a wince.

"Sonic?" Amy called out, unsure whether to be concerned or not.

As if in response, Sonic's arms slowly moved up towards his shoulders and pushed up, spitting sand as he carefully got up. He rolled to a sitting position and, wincing, gingerly rubbed a fresh bruise on his forehead. He looked up and, upon seeing his friends, grinned and waved with cheerful reassurance. "Hey, guys!" he called out to them happily.

Amy couldn't help but laugh at him. "Nice landing," she told him as she jumped out of the boat. "What happened to being careful?"

Knuckles joined her on the wet sand. "He landed on his head, didn't he?"

"Ha ha," muttered Sonic as he stood up. He brushed himself off and spat out more sand. "Blah. Grothe," he complained around his dry tongue.

Tails had also left the boat and was now checking to see how badly it had been damaged. He winced as he found a large hole on its belly on the port side. "You'd better get used to coconuts," he told them. "We might be here a while."

The others come around to see the hole. "Wow. What'd we hit?" asked Amy.

"A reef, I think. Must've been really shallow, though," answered Tails. "I can't fix a hole that size without suitable materials. We're gonna have to find another way off of here."

Knuckles stepped back from the waves that were inching closer with each passing second. "We can at least get it on dry land before the tide comes in."

In a few seconds they were all positioned at different parts of the Tornado. With grunts of exertion, they managed to push it all the way up to the trees at the jungle's edge. "That's far enough," sighed Amy as she slid to the powdery ground.

Sonic was practically bouncing with excitement. "Yeah! Now we can check this place out! C'mon, guys! Let's see what's up!"

"Like an eruption?" offered Knuckles dryly. He pointed up at two columns of smoke in the distance, slowly rising into the air and intersecting in the sky, forming a sloppy X.

Tails frowned. "I don't think so. A volcano that size would be smoking a lot more than that if it was active."

Sonic grinned eagerly at the far-off smoke. "Well, it looks like a real treasure hunt now! We end up on a desert island in the middle of nowhere in search of something, and now X marks the spot!" He turned to face his friends. "That's where it's leading us. It's what we're here for, I know it. We can't stop now!"

Tails smiled and nodded in agreement. "Okay. Let's go!"

Knuckles shrugged casually. "Sure. I need to stretch my legs anyway."

Amy still sat leaning against the grounded plane and looked up at Sonic pleadingly. "Couldn't we rest here a bit first? That thing is heavy!"

Sonic blinked, and then grinned as smugly as he could at her. "All right. You can stay here and rest your poor, tired self while us _guys_ will go find the source of that smoke, find the treasure, solve the mystery, have an awesome time and come back to get you," he said, looking at Tails and Knuckles as if it were the most ingenious plan in the world. "Come on, guys!" he called, swaggering towards the jungle.

Amy was on her feet in an instant, her temper flaring and a huge, yellow and red hammer previously hidden from view held high. "Get back here!" she exploded. "The rest was for _you,_ considering you fell a hundred feet and landed on your face!"

Sonic ignored the attempted stab at his pride. "Great! Then if everybody's okay, let's go!" he said, running off towards his target with Tails and Knuckles close behind.

"Just try to stop me," she growled, replacing her weapon its hiding spot. She stormed off after them, her fatigue replaced by indignation and outrage. "We'll see who needs a rest when I catch up."

The overgrown jungle they entered was difficult to weave through as vines dangled from above and thick grass covered the ground. Tall trees loomed above them, their intertwined, leafy branches blocking out most of the sunlight and trapping the warm, moist air in. Small animals watched them from the treetops and from under the grass as Sonic led the way towards their unknown destination. Anxious as he was to get there, he kept his speed down so his friends could keep up. However, the slow progress aroused impatience in the hedgehog which he took out on his slower companions.

"Come on, guys! I wanna get there today!" he called as he leaned casually against a tree on the far side of a small clearing. "How long can it take to run through grass? I cleared a path for you!"

"It doesn't help that it's over our heads!" snapped an agitated voice that sounded like it belonged to Knuckles. However, exactly where the voice came from was harder to determine as rustles in the dense grass were the only indication of life. "And what path? I can't see anythi-"

"AAIIEEE!" Amy's scream cut off Knuckles and made Sonic jump slightly. Her large hammer shot out of the grass and began swinging around wildly. "Something touched me! There's something in here!"

"No! Stop, Amy!" Tails called out from somewhere nearby. "That was my tail! I'm sorry! Please stop!"

Sonic leaned back against the tree trying to hold back a laugh as the hammer disappeared under the grass. "Oh. Sorry, Tails," he heard her embarrassed apology.

He turned away to where he knew the treasure was and smiled in satisfaction at what he saw. They were so close, they could get there in less than a minute if they kept moving. This mystery was as good as solved.

Rustling grass close behind him made him turn back to find Knuckles, Tails and Amy stumbling out of grass and up the slight incline to where he stood. He grinned as he saw them. "There you are. C'mon! We're almost there!" he called to them encouragingly.

Amy wiped sweat off her face. "You're sure this time?" she questioned skeptically.

"Positive! See for yourself."

Reaching the top of the small hill, the group was met with a small area near the base of the volcano where the trees grew farther apart. Butterflies fluttered between exotic flowers that grew along the banks of a stream that flowed through it. Streaks of sunlight broke through patches in the canopy, sparkling off the water and lighting the scene in an almost fantastic glow.

"Oh, wow," whispered Amy. "It's beautiful."

"Yeah, it's nice," said Knuckles, obviously unimpressed by the natural beauty. "But what does it have to do with the treasure or whatever we're looking for?"

Instead of answering, Sonic pointed up towards the sky peeking through the treetops, smirking in amusement at them. Following his gesture, they could see that the perfect, blue sky had been stained by a massive cloud of thick, black smoke.

Tails's blue eyes widened at the size of it. "It's huge! That can't be the same one as before!"

"Is that where we're headed?" asked Amy doubtfully. "_Toward_ the huge fire?"

"That's it, all right," replied Sonic. "That's where we've been heading all day. We can't stop now." He started running off again, calling over his shoulder, "Don't blame me if you miss it!" as he splashed across the stream and disappeared into the trees.

Energized with the promise of discovery, Tails, Knuckles and Amy ran after him, ignoring their fatigue and the humidity that hung in the air and stuck to them like glue. They followed what they thought was the same path he had taken, wondering, after losing sight of the sky, if they had lost him in the overgrown jungle.

However, all doubts were soon forgotten as Knuckles declared he smelled smoke. Tails and Amy caught the scent soon after and they followed it until they almost collided with Sonic, who was standing next to a massive old tree, staring intently at the tops of the trees ahead. He didn't seem to notice them, even as they gathered around him, wondering what he was looking at.

Knuckles tried to get his attention first. "Thanks for waiting," he said sarcastically, and lightly punched his shoulder.

Sonic turned to face them with an anticipative grin. "It's coming," he said simply, unable to mask the eagerness in his voice.

"Coming?" echoed Amy. "Here? Now?"

He nodded and returned his gaze skyward. "Yeah. Time to see just what led us here. And find out why."

"How long before it gets here?" asked Tails.

Sonic glanced down at an imaginary watch. "Three… Two… One."

Everybody froze and looked up as the canopy high above them began shaking in a sudden strong wind. Seconds later, a shadow fell over the jungle as something big blocked out the sun. A low hum filled the air as well, adding to the already high tension below.

"It's bigger than I thought," commented Sonic in a deceptively calm voice.

"What the…? What is it?" Knuckles asked in wonder.

"One way to find out!" called Sonic as he ran back towards the way they had come. He skidded to a stop at the base of another tree a good distance away from his baffled companions. "See ya topside!" he called out and pushed off from it towards them as if shot from cannon.

They barely had time to jump out of the way as he raced by them and began running straight up the huge tree that blocked their view of the sky. He vanished into the leaves above them and let out a surprised cry shortly after.

"Sonic?" Amy called out to him, but the strong wind made it hard to hear even at their level.

Knuckles rolled his eyes. "I'll go after him," he said in an annoyed voice that was slightly tinged with uneasiness. He jumped at the tree and dug his fists into the bark, climbing hand over hand up its vertical trunk.

"Knuckles! Wait!" Amy called after him, but was ignored as he quickly scaled the tree. She groaned and clenched her fists in exasperation. "Why do they always leave me behind?" she asked the air around her.

A polite tap on her shoulder drew her attention to Tails who was hovering slightly above her with a friendly smile. "They're just excited, is all. I'll give you a lift up!" he said, offering his hands to her.

She smiled back gratefully. "Thanks, Tails. At least you didn't forget me," she told him, causing him to look down modestly. "Now let's go see what's up there!" she finished with a determined grin and securely gripped his open hands.

They quickly rose into the air, staying close to the immense tree to avoid as much as the gale above them as they could. Tails soon found it hard to continue as the wind became stronger as they rose higher. "The wind… it's coming from above us!" Tails had to yell to be heard over the howling wind as it shook the canopy around them relentlessly.

Flying through a break in the leaves, they stared wide-eyed at what hovered not 30 feet above their heads. They froze in their ascent as they exchanged an amazed glance before taking another look of confirmation. "No way," breathed Amy.

"Wha… What's _he_ doing here?" stammered Tails incredulously. For directly above them, almost completely blocking any view of the sky, the Egg Stormer loomed, its huge frame slowly cruising away from the cloud of smoke that still hung in the air. The large engines that supported it blasted air down on the jungle below, lifting the craft slowly higher into the sky.

"We came all the way out here to see _that_?" Knuckles's outraged shout came from the base of one of the huge branches that hung a little higher than them. They followed their friends' voices as an argument broke out between the two teenagers.

"How was I supposed to know _he'd_ be here?"

"You led us right to him! Again! We only took him down a few hours ago! Why'd you bring us back?"

"This isn't where we fought him! And it isn't him!"

"Right. And who _else_ would be flying that thing?"

"I mean he isn't what we're looking for!"

"Really? Then what _are_ we looking for?"

"I think it's-"

"Stop it, guys!" Tails cut him off as he dropped Amy off on the branch, landing behind her shortly after. "Now's not the time to fight!"

"Yeah, guys!" put in Amy. "In case you haven't noticed, Eggman's flying over our heads!"

"Yeah, I know," said Sonic. "But why would he be here?"

"I doubt it's to admire the scenery," said Knuckles.

"So, was all this a trap?" asked Tails, looking up cautiously.

Sonic shrugged. "Doubt it. He'd be shooting at us or at least gloating about it by now. I don't even think he knows we're here."

"Why else would he be here, then?" Knuckles shouted over the still blowing wind.

"Probably the same reason we are. He just got to it first."

"Huh? But how would he know it was here?" wondered Amy. "What is 'it' anyway?"

"Hey! I think someone's down there!" Tails called out suddenly, pointing towards the ground. Far below them, a lone human limped towards the tree they were in, away from the smoke. Upon reaching it, he collapsed and curled into a ball at its base.

Amy gasped. "Oh my gosh! He's hurt!"

"C'mon! Let's go help him!" shouted Sonic.

"What about Eggman?" asked Knuckles.

Sonic grabbed an overhanging vine and pulled on it experimentally. "We'll take care of him later. That guy down there could be hurt pretty bad. We should make sure he's all right." He dropped it down and watched it fall to earth, landing in a coiled heap down below. "Ladies first," he said with a teasing grin at Amy.

Ignoring his tone she took the vine and, testing it herself, began sliding down towards the ground. Sonic held the vine for Tails and Knuckles and, with a final glance at the airship that was beginning to pick up speed as it flew away, followed with a whoop, his one-handed grip barely slowing him down from a freefall.

Landing on the ground flawlessly, he immediately turned his attention to where his friends crowded around the injured man as he coughed raggedly and gulped air. Tails looked over at Sonic from where he knelt beside the man. "He's inhaled a lot of smoke, and he's got a twisted ankle, but he seems fine other than that," he explained with a relieved smile.

"Got lucky," rasped the man as he straightened and tried to get to an upright position. He was young, perhaps in his twenties, and his smooth face was smeared with soot. The long, once white coat he wore was singed at the ends, as were his jeans which were torn in several places. He cleared his throat and winced painfully. "Water," he croaked pleadingly.

"Uhh, Sorry. We don't have any," apologized Sonic. "But can you tell us what happened?"

Instead of answering, he struggled to sit up, leaning back against the tree. He swallowed hard and glared at Sonic from behind a pair of thick, round glasses. "How did you get here?" he demanded in a much stronger voice.

Sonic took a step back and held his hands up defensively. "Whoa, hey, easy there! We're here to help!"

"We crashed out in the ocean," explained Tails. "And this was the closest island to us."

"Took us a freaking hour to get here, though," muttered Knuckles sourly.

The man stared at him. "Crashed? You mean in a plane? So, you're stranded here?"

"Not if I can fix it," replied Tails cheerfully. "The reef did some damage, but it should fly again."

He shook his head. "We should have seen you coming. We should have seen _him_ coming. If only the experiment-" he stopped abruptly and he turned quite pale. His breathing became shallow and he looked up toward the sky with a soft gasp of dread.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Amy with concern. "What experiment?"

"Experiment?" he echoed nervously. "What experiment? I don't know what you're talking about!" he tried to chuckle, but was soon overcome with a coughing fit that lasted several seconds.

Tails frowned. "But you just said-"

"Nothing!" he gasped, his face now red. "I-it's a secret! Er, nothing's a secret! It's nothing!" he stammered hastily.

"A secret experiment?" guessed Sonic, looking up as well. "What's Eggman up to now?"

The man stared at him as if noticing him for the first time. "You know who attacked us?" he asked incredulously.

"He attacked you?" asked Sonic, but then shook his head. "Why am I not surprised? Yeah, we know him."

"So that smoke we saw. That was you?" wondered Amy.

"Yes. Can you stop him?"

"Not a problem," answered Knuckles. "Would you believe we did that already today?"

"Wait a minute," interrupted Tails. "Us? There's more of you?"

"Yeah. The whole lab was attacked," he explained before glancing up sharply. "I mean, there's no… Aw, what's the use?" He shook his head slowly. "The point is, this guy attacked us while we were having… technical difficulties, and stole our most recent and promising experiment. It's top secret, and very important that we get it back before he figures out what it can do! But the other scientists are still in trouble at the lab…" He hesitated before continuing. "I… they're gonna kill me for this, but could you help us please?"

The four castaways exchanged eager grins and determined nods. "Sue thing, Doc!" Sonic answered for all of them with a grin at the man. Then he turned back to his friends. "You guys go help out those guys at the lab. I'll take care of Eggman!"

"What?" cried Knuckles. "Why do you always get to go after Eggman?"

"Because they need all the help they can get," he answered seriously. Then he grinned again. "Besides this way, not only will I get back their science project faster, but I'll also figure out what we're looking for."

"If you're sure he's got it," said Tails.

"I'm positive."

"Sorry to interrupt, but what _are_ you looking for?" inquired the injured scientist.

"I'll let you when I find out," answered Sonic. He turned to leave. "I'll catch up with you guys later. See ya!" he called you his shoulder as he dashed off after the mysterious signal that still beckoned relentlessly to him.

"Sonic!" Amy called after him knowing full well she would be ignored. She sighed in defeat as she watched him disappear through the brush. She admired his free spirit and his independence. They were what had made her fall in love with him. But did he always have to be the hero all by himself? True, he brought Tails and Knuckles along with him often enough, but the only way she ever went anywhere with him is if she begged him, or if she just happened to be involved in whatever he was doing at the time. Why couldn't he just want to be with her, just once?

"Come on, Amy!" Tails brought her back into reality. "Those people could be hurt pretty bad! Let's go!"

"Yeah. You're right," she said, shifting her gaze to the human still sitting back against the tree. "Will you be all right here on your own here?" she asked him. As he nodded at her, she turned to the patiently waiting fox. "Lead the way, Tails."

He smiled at her and they both started off for the smoke that originated at the hidden laboratory. Knuckles, however, stayed where he was. "Lead the way, _Tails_?" he shouted, waving his fists in the air expressively. "What about me? _I _should be in charge here! I have authority! I'm older than both of you, for crying out loud!"

Amy stopped and turned to face him. "Well maybe if you stopped throwing a tantrum and started moving, you might _be_ leading us! So quit being a baby and come on!" she called at him before leaving after Tails.

"WHAT? That's mutiny! Get back here!" he roared as he chased after them, shouting threats at them as they headed for the secret lab.

The young scientist, however, sat still under the tree, hoping that someone would come back for him before some hungry predator did.

Sprinting through the jungle, dodging dangling vines and bouncing off trees, Sonic quickly caught up to the airship that was slowly rising higher into the sky. "He sure isn't in any hurry," he commented as he ran under its huge shadow.

He spotted two trees growing close to each other, their tall trunks branching off into a wide spread of branches high overhead, and a confident smile spread across his face as an idea came to him. He ran at the tree farthest from him and, flipping around to push off with his feet, ricocheted off of it towards the other tree. His momentum shot him from tree to tree as he pushed off higher and higher until he landed on the end of one of the lower branches. Using it as a springboard, he shot upwards, bursting through the leaves and landing a few branches from the top, which he quickly hopped up.

Balancing on the top branch, he could easily spot the giant aircraft hovering high above him, not appearing to be going anywhere. "Wow. He's really moved up," he said to himself. He shaded his eyes and looked around for anything higher that he could board the Stormer from, but aside from a few taller trees, the volcano was the only higher point in sight, and that was also too low.

He looked back curiously at the floating craft, wondering why he hadn't been noticed yet. The bright blue of his quills didn't exactly blend in with the green of the trees. Eggman should have detected him by now, launching easy-to-dodge missiles and robots he could blow up in his sleep. But the enormous craft just hovered in place, silently ignoring the world below.

Sonic smiled as his favorite strategy came to mind. Using Eggman's weapons against him never failed. It was a little different every time, but it applied in some form whenever he fought against one of the scientist's "latest, greatest inventions". If he could get him to attack, he would have no trouble boarding the Stormer, recovering the stolen experiment, finding the treasure and destroying the craft afterwards.

_And I thought this was going to be a boring day,_ he thought with a chuckle. Waving both arms above his head, he called out, "Yo, Eggman! Can't you stay out of trouble for one day? This is getting serious!"

Instead of a barrage of lethal weaponry, or even a verbal retort, one of the massive turbines of the impressive flying battleship suddenly exploded.

Sonic was struck dumb with astonishment. Why had it just exploded like that? For an instant, he thought he'd imagined it, but the sound and shock wave reached him and nearly threw him off his perch. "Whoa!" he yelled as he struggled to retain his balance. "What was that about?"

He quickly looked up again, scanning the area for any sign of a threat. Eggman could have used the explosion to shock him into dropping his guard, becoming vulnerable to attack. However, there was nothing headed in his direction.

The ship tilted away from him as the remaining engines tried to level out the craft, but just as they were about to accomplish this, the front engine on the same side blew up even more aggressively than the first one had. Now unable to balance itself, the ship rolled towards the volcano, trailing black smoke as it fell earthward.

Sonic looked down painfully as the sun, no longer blocked by the Stormer, shone its full strength upon him and the trees around him. As he snapped out of the shock of the explosion, the strange calling again overpowered his other senses, making him completely assured of one fact:

It was falling.

Shading his eyes and squinting into the sky, he quickly caught sight of something falling from the burning craft. It crashed through the treetops near the base of the volcano before he could get a good look at it. "There it is!" he declared triumphantly. "Now I can finally get to the bottom of this!"

Leaping off the tree, he landed in a somersault and sprinted for what he hoped was the key to the mystery. Glancing upwards between breaks in the canopy, he could see the burning craft falling towards the volcano, smoke pouring from the destroyed engines.

He shook his head in mock disappointment. "Doesn't he know smoking's bad for you? One of these days it'll kill him!" he laughed, knowing that this would barely even deter the old doctor from his goal.

_But why did it just blow up like that?_ he couldn't help wondering as he pushed through a tangle of ferns. It had been so sudden and unexpected - not the kind of thing one would expect from a genius. Granted, Eggman rarely thought things all the way through, but he usually had a pretty good idea as to what things could do. Unless they were things he completely underestimated like Chaos and Dark Gaia, two incredibly powerful monsters that he thought he could control, but nearly got himself killed in their destructive rampages. Could he have found another such power?

_Maybe the experiment he stole…_ It made sense. The way the young scientist had paled when he described it made it sound even more powerful than he had implied it to be.

He could deal with it later, he decided. If all it would do for the doctor now was blow up his toys, he'd have plenty of time to catch up with him after he found…

He skidded to a halt at the top of a small hill that sloped down to a shady patch of thick grass and ferns. He could feel it down there, waiting for him to collect it. He started to head down toward it, when the ferns rustled as a soft moan reached his ears. He watched cautiously as something orange slowly stood up, holding its forehead in one hand. It staggered backwards, then quickly recovered its balance, shaking its head. Then it froze suddenly and whirled around to face Sonic, tense and prepared to either fight or run.

She was definitely female; her thin, orange body giving off a faint glow in the dim light and dressed in the singed remains of a ragged dress that looked like it had never seen much better days. Her dark, fear-filled eyes were fixed on him, almost seeming to see through him with their intensity. Her long, pointed ears swiveled on top of her head like radar, searching for anything else that could be hiding in the growth around her. Long, matted fur draped down her neck to her shoulders and a single bound lock of fur framed the left side of her face.

Sonic stared at the girl in wonder. The signal he had followed had led directly to her. It didn't look like she had anything on her. Could she _be_ it? The sixth sense inside him seemed to confirm that this glowing, orange creature was indeed the end of the trail. But what was he supposed to do now? Befriend her? Fight her? Protect her? Destroy her?

Maybe she knew. No harm in asking, right? He began walking toward her. "Hey, are you-"

She crouched lower and bared her teeth threateningly, stopping Sonic in his tracks. She emitted a low growl that was surprisingly loud for someone of her size. It sounded like a feral dog right before it attacked an intruder. Her ears flattened and a long, bushy, orange tail rose out of the undergrowth, swishing from side to side aggressively. Her pose and expression brought out the canine features of her body and face. This was no mere girl; this was a wolf!

Sonic flinched at her sudden, primitive display, and took a reflexive step back. Something deep inside him felt like turning and running, using the incredible speed he had been granted with for putting as much distance between him and the growling set of bared teeth in front of him. It was a subconscious instinct that told him that even though they might be standing on two legs and wearing clothes (even if that only included gloves and shoes in his case) she was still predator and he was still prey.

He pushed the dreadful feeling aside and held up his hands, waving them defensively. "Whoa, whoa, calm down! I'm not gonna hurt you!"

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "_St'oonva h'rish_," she growled, still poised for action.

"What?" Sonic frowned in confusion. _Maybe she didn't understand me._ He tried again, speaking slowly. "It's okay. Me friend. Not hurt you."

The threatening snarl melted into a confused frown. Her ears picked back up cautiously and she relaxed ever so slightly. "…_D'roon tsu lupetsa_?" she asked suspiciously.

Sonic smiled friendlily, taking another step forward. "Uhh... Sorry, I don't understand you. Do you speak English?" he asked gently. "I want to help you, but you have to let me."

She tensed again and he stopped. She made a strange, drawn out, throaty sound as her mouth seemed to form words, none of which were in any language he had ever heard. He advanced again, slowly, while speaking calmly. "It's okay. I just wanna talk."

She stepped back, looking around desperately at the surrounding foliage. She snarled again at Sonic, but he ignored it and continued toward her. As he neared the bottom of the slope, her eyes widened as they focused on a point above his head and she let out a small gasp, taking another step back.

Sonic whirled around to face whatever could have snuck up behind him. But the slope was empty. "What?" he wondered aloud as he looked around warily. A flash of orange light behind him took him by surprise, and he spun around only to find the girl gone.

"Hey! Come back!" he called out, stepping out to where she had stood just seconds before. "There's nothing there! It's okay! There's nothing…" he trailed off as he realized what she had done. Of course there was nothing there! He had just fallen for the oldest trick in the book! "Why, that little…" he started, but he couldn't help smiling in admiration. She had fooled him so easily, without saying a word.

There was more to her than met the eye, it would seem.

He could feel her moving quickly away from him, already a long way off. _She's quick, I'll give her that,_ he thought, grinning in anticipation. "You're not getting away that easily!" he called out as he pursued her.

He honed in on her, and caught up quickly. He caught a glimpse of her bright orange fur before he pushed through a wall of vines and found her running across a small clearing right in front of him. He ran after her and, just as he was about to grab her arm, she pulled away, spinning around to face him as he skidded to a stop.

He flashed his trademark grin. "Nice try. But it'll take more than that to lose me!" He held out a hand as a gesture of friendship which she took a hasty step back from. "If you can understand me, then know that I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna talk, I swear," he said gently.

She cautiously looked at his hand, then up to his eyes, then back at his hand. She took another step back and shook her head. "_L'imtia tu h'ora sta, mes cia pe'lonku_," she mumbled, meeting his eyes sorrowfully. "_Ha mien'nu tsiletzu tey_." She stepped back again, watching Sonic carefully before she turned to run into the jungle.

Sonic began to follow after her. "Hey! Wait! Where're you-"

She suddenly whirled on him, snarling viciously. "_K'ahni tey mi ahanniet_?" she snapped at him. "_Ha'r á lagonicet_!" She closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them, they glowed with the same vivid orange as the rest of her body. Sonic crouched defensively, but she looked away and, with a blinding flash of light that he had to shield his eyes against, vanished into thin air.

He lowered his arm and stared at the space the wolf had vacated. He sensed her on the move again, even farther away than she had been before. "Did she just use a… Chaos Control?" he wondered.

He ran off after her, his mind swirling with questions. How could she have pulled it off? Maybe she had a Chaos Emerald. But they all disappeared when the Tornado had crashed. Or, at least, Tails's had. Maybe she had found one. Maybe she was like Shadow and could pull it off without needing one.

_Well, it looks like she has the answers,_ he mentally concluded. He remembered the fear in her eyes and how she had pulled away from his offered hand. _I've got to get her to understand that I'm not gonna hurt her. I've got to communicate with her somehow._

He quickly found her again, and as she came into view she yelled something at him over her shoulder and disappeared before he could get a word in. This cycle repeated itself two more times before he decided enough was enough. Chasing her through the thick jungle with the hot moist air making it almost impossible to breathe, never mind run, was beginning to frustrate him immensely. He'd talk to her if he had to knock some sense into her to do it.

He sprinted toward her new location at full speed. He'd have to keep her still if he was going to communicate with her, and if tackling her to the ground was the only way to do it, so be it.

She was coming up faster now, he sensed. _She's stopped! Now's my chance!_ He could feel her just up ahead, behind a curtain of huge ferns. _It's now or never. Got to make this count,_ he thought with determination.

He could feel her just behind the ferns, so right before he reached them he dove forward in a final leap for her. He burst through the leafy plants, expecting to slam into her, but something completely different met him instead.

Shadow ploughed through the undergrowth as he shot towards the source of the energy that still called to him. He had decided to call it the Source until he was informed of another name. It had led him to an island over an hour's ride away from the mainland, even in the customized speedboat he had confiscated from the boys. How he had known it was here, he could not say, but he knew that the answers were here somewhere. All he had to do was find them.

He kept a constant vigil all around him, but a few small animals and insects were all that he could see. _No guards, no surveillance, not even a person around,_he observed. _This is too easy. There must be a catch._

He came to an abrupt halt as he felt the Source suddenly change position. He had felt it fall earlier from a height that he assumed was the mountain summit and had been moving in to claim it, but it had suddenly moved a significant distance in no time at all. How had it done that? Was something moving it, or was it moving of its own power? And why? _What _is _this thing?_

"A diversion?" he guessed, spinning around defensively. But there was nothing in sight. He quickly examined the area all around him, but again he was only met by the sounds of the jungle.

"Then why am I here?" he wondered aloud. The Source still beckoning to him seemed to answer him, demanding his attention. "I can only hope the answers lie ahead," he concluded and skated after it again.

As he accelerated to full speed, he kept his guard up, watching for an ambush or trap. But still nothing confronted him, not even the animals he had seen earlier. "It's too quiet," he murmured as he weaved through the tall, leafy trees.

"Aah?" He nearly tripped over himself as he felt the Source suddenly move again, far to the left this time. He glared in its direction, a large fallen tree almost completely blocking the path, sun beams breaking through the canopy beyond it. "_Now_ where are you leading me?" he snapped, and leaped over the dead tree in pursuit.

He continued forward, pushing through a thick patch of grass that was taller than his head, and zigzagged between a cluster of closely-packed trees. He felt it move again as he slid down a steep slope and pushed off after it again, over a bumpy trail of overlapping roots. As the path smoothed out, the Source moved again, and he turned sharply to the right and skated through an especially dense section of jungle. Tall grass, ferns, creepers and vines tried to block his path, but he pushed on through without slowing down.

_Where is it taking me?_ The question played over and over in his head. There was no pattern to its movements at all, just a random position change every few minutes. He didn't seem to be going in any particular direction, either. _There's no point in trying to disorient me, since I already have no idea where I am,_he thought as he skated. "But if you're trying to tire me out, you're going to have to wait a long time," he said with arrogant smirk.

He had to turn almost completely around when it moved again. As he pushed off after it he noticed that it seemed closer this time. Much closer. Now that he thought about it, it had been subtly moving toward him, closing in on him as he closed in on it. It was using a common hunter's strategy: confuse the prey and then strike when it is most vulnerable with overwhelming force.

"So who's hunting whom?" he wondered thoughtfully. "Or what?"

He could feel it waiting behind a wall of leafy ferns just up ahead of him. The wide leaves of the plants formed a natural curtain that blocked whatever lay behind it from view. He rocketed toward it as fast as he could, the foliage in the edges of his vision passing by in a blur.

Willing the Source to stay still, if only for a few more seconds, he thought, _Now it's time to see why I've been brought here. Prepare yourself, Source!_ and blasted through the ferns at almost Mach One.

In the split seconds that followed, Shadow became aware of three things. First, the instant he pushed the leafy plants aside, a blinding orange light momentarily flashed before him in the center of the small clearing that lay behind them. Second, the Source moved again. And third, something about the same size as himself was moving toward him, and just as fast. He managed to register the color blue before he collided with it so hard could have sworn it caused a shock wave.

He fell back hard, spots dancing before his eyes from both the dazzling light and his concussion. He shook his head to clear his vision and quickly got back up, cursing himself for dropping his guard. He tensed for combat, ready to take down whatever he had run into. But the only thing lying before him, rubbing his forehead painfully, was an all too familiar blue hedgehog.

"Sonic?" he exclaimed, completely thrown off by this new development. "What the-? What are _you_ doing here?" he demanded.

Sonic sat up, his hand still on his head. His eyes rolled around comically for a few seconds before he blinked them into focus and smirked up at Shadow in amusement. "Oh, hey, Shadow," he greeted casually. "Nice to see you too. I'm treasure hunting!"

Shadow shook his head again, both in exasperation and to clear his head some more. "I don't have time to deal with you," he said coldly.

"What, you looking for something, too?" asked Sonic, getting to his feet. "What a coincidence! Maybe we can help each other!"

Shadow glared at him. "I don't _need_ your help. I had almost found it when you showed up. Now stay out of my way so I can find it again." He could feel it close by, but he couldn't get a lock on the direction.

"…It wouldn't be an energy source, would it?" Sonic asked curiously. He was watching Shadow carefully, with a hint of a smile playing on his face as he began putting together the pieces of the puzzle.

Shadow stared at him. "What did you say?"

"An energy source. One you've gotta find, but you don't know why, and you know where it is, but you don't know how."

"Yes." That described the feeling perfectly, albeit simply. "How do you know about it? Do you feel it too? Where is it now?"

Sonic "hmmed" thoughtfully. He was having trouble finding it too. "She's close, but…" he trailed off, looking around the clearing.

Shadow frowned. "She?"

"Yeah. See, it's not really an-"

"Hm!" Shadow suddenly tensed, his eyes flicking from side to side. A single leaf floated lethargically down from the treetops above and landed squarely between the two hedgehogs. Simultaneously, they looked up and, high above them, perched on the branches directly above them, was the orange wolf staring down at them in wide-eyed terror.

"_Crilch_," she said quietly.

Shadow looked completely befuddled. "That's the Source?" he asked, frowning in confusion. "This doesn't make any sense. What are we supposed to do with her?"

"I dunno," replied Sonic, keeping his eyes on her. "I've been trying to talk to her, but I don't think she speaks English."

Shadow's frown deepened. Perhaps communication wasn't the point. Maybe confrontation was. Picking out two of the trees that ringed the clearing, he jumped his way up them the same way Sonic had earlier. Sonic called at him to wait, but he ignored him and soon stood on the same level as the girl, observing her carefully.

Up close, the helplessness she seemed to have displayed before was lost on her stance as she faced him. She couldn't have been older than her late teens, but her eyes, intently focused on him and an unsettling black, made her seem much older. Her expression was defiant, but not aggressive, and a lock of long fur bound in two places by rings to keep it in place travelled halfway down her cheek, adding to her mysterious appearance. Her limbs, thin but muscular, were tensed and poised for action. And her feet, balanced perfectly on her branch with all the expertise of a tightrope walker, were shod with sandals, their leather straps firmly latched around her feet and ankles.

She looked able to hold her own in a fight, but she had one foot behind her, as if prepared to flee. He reconsidered his approach. Taking a step toward her, he said, "All right. Why did you call me here?"

Her ears flattened and she hissed at him, backing away from him quickly.

He stopped, smiling darkly at her. "Scary. But I think you'll find me much scarier," he told her ominously, taking another step along the narrow branch,

"_Mah r'eniah tah!_" she barked at him, curling back her lips, revealing sharp fangs. "_Ha'r á lagonicet_!_ Ha mien'nu tsiletzu tey_!"

Shadow stared at the girl in bewilderment. "I told you, she doesn't speak English!" Sonic called up to him. "We've gotta find another way to communicate with her!"

He thought about that for a moment. "Well if she doesn't understand English, maybe she'll understand _this_!" He leapt at her, feigning an attack to observe her response.

In a completely unexpected move, the wolf vanished in a flash of light. As he passed through the spot where she had stood a moment before, he could feel energy swirl around him, overloading his sixth sense as it seemed to taunt him from all sides. It felt very similar to his own Chaos Control. That explained the erratic movements, but how had she done it?

Forcing himself to focus, he grabbed the branch the girl had vacated as it flew toward him, deprived of its weight. Swinging around it, he landed directly in front of Sonic in a crouch. Locating her signal, he immediately locked on to it and pursued her with Sonic hard on his heels.

"What did you do that for?" Sonic chided him, "Couldn't you see how scared she was? She'll never trust us now!"

"I was studying her reaction. You of all people should know how much you can learn about a person from fighting them."

"Yeah, well, you learned that she can use a Chaos Control whenever she wants and that she's afraid of us. Both of which I could have told you. Now she's just gonna disappear as soon as she sees us!"

"Not if I can help it," growled Shadow. "She's not the only one who can use Chaos Control!"

Pushing through a patch of overgrown grass, they caught a glimpse of the wolf cresting a small rise up ahead. Gathering his energy, Shadow yelled out, "Chaos Control!" and leaped into a time-space warp as his feet left the ground.

He left Sonic behind in a slow-motion run as he rushed forward. He knew that he couldn't go far without a Chaos Emerald, but he didn't have far to go. He returned to normal speed directly behind the girl and as soon as he hit the ground, sprang forward in a flying tackle. It wasn't his usual style, but he wanted this pointless goose-chase to end as soon as possible.

She rolled to the right in a sudden, evasive move, and he went sailing over her shoulder. He rolled forward as he landed and swung around to face her. She, too, was crouched and facing him, breathing hard, but holding her ground.

"Nice reflexes. Now try to dodge this!" he snapped, and charged at her. She tensed as he advanced, baring her teeth aggressively. He swung a fist at her head, but she jerked away expertly, stepping back from him. He aimed his next punch lower, but again she pulled away.

He launched a barrage of punches and kicks, one after another with all the speed and strength he could muster. But she dodged just as quickly, backing up towards a large tree behind her. _She's fast,_ he observed. _But she's tiring. She won't last long._

Trying a different angle, he suddenly jumped up high in the air, curled into a ball and fired himself at her, spinning through the air in a homing attack. She dodged, as he had predicted, skipping to her right. Uncurling at the last second, he planted his feet on the tree and shot off of it, aimed precisely at her, while activating a Chaos Control.

She whirled around to face him, remaining matched to his speed while her eyes turned a vivid shade of orange. As he shot toward her, she leaned back in a move taken straight out of The Matrix, arching her back just enough that Shadow just missed his target. For an instant, their eyes locked – crimson and orange; his surprise and her determination – as he flew centimeters over her face.

The moment seemed to stretch on like that for full seconds, either because of the time warp or for some other unknown reason. But as suddenly as it had happened, it passed and the ground rushed toward him as he continued through the air.

He dropped out of the time warp and tumbled onto the ground, managing to roll to a crouch as time caught up to him. He turned to face her, but she was already fleeing for the thicker parts of the jungle, although she, too, had returned to normal speed.

Just as she was about to reach the shelter of a thickly grown bush, Sonic suddenly appeared in her path, sliding to a halt directly in front of her. "Going somewhere?" he asked her smugly.

She gasped when she saw him, and tried to stop, but she was too late and slammed into him hard. He was prepared to catch her, but not for what happened next. As soon as she touched him, he felt energy surge through him, just like it had on the Tornado, but much stronger. It ran over his skin in little lightning bolts, and inside of him like a bomb going off. It struck him with the same intensity that the seven Chaos Emeralds gave off when he absorbed them and became Super. And for a second, he _felt_ Super, his feet having left the ground and the energy flowing through him feeling strangely familiar, almost Chaotic, and yet not quite. Then he landed on his back, the bushes softening the fall, but not by much, realizing he was yelling out in pain, and the girl on top of him was screaming, too.

It was the exact same scream he had heard on the Tornado.

Clenching his teeth in exertion, he pushed her off of himself and lay back on the ground, breathing hard until the pain died down. He watched small, orange electric charges crawl over his arms until the energy and the pain faded away.

Looking up, he saw the wolf girl sparking similarly and gasping for breath a short distance away from him. Shadow stood over them, glancing between the two of them with a pondering expression on his face. He stepped closer to the girl and she flattened herself on the ground and covered her head with her arms in terror.

"No! No hurt! Give up!" she cried at him. "Please stop! No hurt!"

Shadow frowned at Sonic. "I thought you said she didn't speak English."

"She didn't. She wasn't," he replied confusedly, getting to his feet. "Hey," he said to her. "Are you okay? Can you understand us?"

She peeked up at him timidly from under her arms. "Y-yes," she answered softly.

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

She lowered her arms and looked up at him. "Did not... understand."

"But you can now?" Shadow asked, raising an eyebrow. "How does that work out?"

She lowered her eyes and stayed silent.

Sonic knelt down to her level. "Look, you don't have to be afraid of us. We're not gonna hurt you." He offered her his hand again. "Need a hand up?"

She stared at his hand cautiously. "…N-No," she said finally and slowly got to her feet. She was taller than the hedgehogs by almost a full head, but she was bowed submissively, making her seem smaller.

"I think we've done enough running around for one day," said Shadow, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. "So just stay… Nnngh!" He pulled back his hand as a stream of energy shot up his arm, burning through him as it had on the beach. She had cried out in pain too, and recoiled from him, gripping her sparking shoulder.

"Shadow!" Sonic called out in surprised concern. He watched him as energy bolts travelled up his arm and over his entire body. Gripping his wrist hard, Shadow scrunched up his face as he tried to hold back a sudden wave of emotion that had suddenly rushed upon him with the energy. It soon died down, and he stared down at his hand once it did.

"What…?" He looked up at the wolf in baffled confusion. "What _are_ you?"

She looked back and forth between both of them, stepping back as she did so. Then she perked her head up alertly as though she had heard something.

Shadow turned around defensively, but Sonic just smirked at her. "Oh, no. I'm not falling for that one again."

She looked at him. "Perhaps you should," she told him bluntly.

He was about to question what she meant when a familiar voice rang out. "Sonic!"

He turned at the sound of his name. "Amy? Is that you?"

She pushed through the foliage at the bottom of the hill and made a beeline for him. "There you are! Are you okay? I heard screaming! What happened?"

Tails appeared right behind her. "Amy? Wait up! Did you find him?" he called after her.

They made their way up to the small group on the top of the small hill. "Oh! Hi, Shadow! What are you doing here?" Amy asked cheerfully when she saw him.

"Heh-heh," Sonic chuckled. "We kinda ran into each other earlier."

"Oh, okay," said Tails. "And who's this?"

"This is what we were looking for! You know the energy source I was talking about? It's her!" He turned to face the girl in question. "We had to chase her all over the island, though, and when we finally caught up to her, she zapped us with something." He gave her a questioning look. "Why'd you do that, anyway?"

She lowered her gaze shyly and said nothing.

Tails approached her, smiling friendlily. "It's okay, we just wanna be friends." He held out a hand in greeting. "My name's Miles Prower, but everyone calls me Tails."

She looked between his hand and his eyes for a long moment before finally bowing her head. "Miles…Prower," she repeated slowly, her tongue rolling in an accent.

He laughed. "No, really. Call me Tails."

Her expression didn't change. "Tails," she said obediently.

Amy stepped forward. "I'm Amy Rose," she introduced herself with a curtsy. "But just call me Amy."

"Amy Rose," parroted the wolf. "Amy."

"I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!" declared Sonic with a thumb pressed to his chest.

She echoed his name with another bow of her head.

Sonic pointed at Shadow with his thumb. "That's Shadow. He doesn't talk much."

The two exchanged a long look, then she bowed her head so low the bound lock of fur dangled by her nose. "Shadow," she said quietly. Then she picked up her head and looked around alertly.

"What's your name?" asked Amy curiously.

She stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"You've got a name, right?" added Tails.

"Ah…" she started nervously. Then she sighed, almost as if in defeat. "L-Lupa," she told them softly. "Er... Wolf."

"Lupa?" repeated Sonic. She nodded. "Lupa the Wolf, huh? Cool."

She looked first at him, then to all of them in turn with an incredulous expression, but still remained silent.

Sonic turned to Tails. "Hey, what happened to Knuckles?"

"He stayed behind to help out the professors. Their lab was pretty badly damaged, and a couple of people were pretty badly hurt, but overall they got off pretty lucky. A few people got trapped inside so Knuckles had to help dig them out. He was underground when Amy heard you. We should probably head back now."

"How'd you find us?"

Tails grinned. "You must've gone around in a circle. You're right where you left us, see?" He led them down the hill to where they had come in through the bushes. He pushed them aside and the massive old tree they had climbed earlier stood there like an ancient protector guarding the jungle from harm.

"Oh, hey! The big tree! We're right back where we started," said Sonic. "So, which way to the lab?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" brought up Shadow. "What about her?" He nodded at Lupa, who had been looking up at the tree in awed wonder, but now looked back at them shyly.

"She can come with us!" answered Sonic. "Right, guys?"

"Sure!" agreed Tails.

"Of course!" Amy skipped over to Lupa cheerfully. "You can meet Knuckles and the professors! It'll be great!" She took her arm in an enthusiastically friendly move. "C'mon!"

"No, wait! Don't!" Sonic stepped toward them hastily. Lupa flinched at Amy's touch and tried to pull her arm away, her eyes wise and staring at Amy's hand as if it would jump up and bite her. Amy was staring at Sonic with a confused frown. "What?"

He watched as nothing happened. Then he turned to Shadow. "Maybe it's only us."

Shadow thought for a moment. "Can they feel it?" he asked. When Sonic shook his head, he nodded slowly. "That might be it, then."

"What are you talking about?" asked Tails.

"We'll explain later," answered Sonic as they headed toward the secret laboratory. As they walked, Tails caught Sonic up on what he, Amy and Knuckles had been up to.

When they had separated to look for the source of the smoke, they had stumbled upon an ancient pyramid that had clearly been badly damaged in a recent attack. They knew they were the right place when they saw people, most of which were in white lab coats, running around trying to help get things back in order after their ordeal. They were quite surprised to see the three outsiders but they accepted their assistance without much hesitation.

After putting out the fires that still continued to burn, they were finally able to get to some of the people trapped inside, as well as get out some of their equipment and experiments. While Tails and Amy bandaged the injured and tried to help organize things, Knuckles tried to clear paths out to get to the remaining people trapped in the sub-levels of the lab.

"It's weird, though," commented Tails as an afterthought. "Some of them seemed more concerned about the experiments than the safety of the other scientists."

"Especially the one Eggman stole," added Amy, who was still holding Lupa's hand. "You got it back, right?" she asked Sonic.

"Uhhh… Not really. The thing is, he kinda blew himself up before I got to him," he explained.

"Huh?" wondered Tails. "He just blew himself up? That doesn't make any sense."

"A lot of things don't today," replied Sonic. "Anyway, right after that, I found Lupa."

"Yeah, but the experiment…?" prodded Amy.

He shrugged. "I dunno. Eggman's still got it I guess. If it survived the explosion." He gave her a questioning look. "Why?"

She and Tails exchanged a nervous look. "Uhh… you'll find out," answered Tails.

"What's that me-" started Sonic, but Lupa interrupted with a sharp hiss that cut him off. She backed up hastily, pulling Amy with her, focused on a dense patch of bushes ahead.

"Hey! What's up?" asked Amy as she stumbled for balance.

"Not up, ahead," she hissed in response. "You have brought me back to him. I should have known. I will not go back with him."

"Who?" wondered Tails. "What did he do to you?"

Instead of answering, she just stood there, growling at the bushes ahead. Faint voices came up from behind it, soon becoming drowned out in the rustling foliage as they came closer. She took a nervous half step back as her growl faded into a whimper.

The bushes parted as Knuckles, covered with dirt and mud, shoved his way through them. He stopped as he spotted his friends waiting in front of him. "_There_ you are!" he said loudly. "Thanks for leaving me alone there, guys! And we could've used your help, too, Sonic! Where have you been? What's Shadow doing here? And who the heck are you?"

"Calm down, Echidna," came a different voice from behind him. An older man with short but thick, white hair and a bushy mustache pushed through the bushes. "I take it from your onslaught of inquiries that you've located your companions?" He looked over the assortment of creatures before him with scrutinizing thoroughness. When he noticed Lupa, a look of satisfaction spread across his face. "Nicely done. It seems you were right after all, Tails." He looked over at Sonic. "You must be Sonic. Your young friend here has spoken highly of your reliability. I see now that he wasn't exaggerating. Our deal, it seems, was completely unnecessary."

"Deal?" repeated Sonic, turning to Tails. "What deal?"

Tails looked down. "Well, this is a top-secret research facility. So they don't really want us to leave now that we've seen the lab and their experiments. So… I let them hold onto the Tornado until they got the stolen experiment back."

"Just as a precaution," added the man with a shrug.

"Yeah, well, the thing is, I don't have it," explained Sonic. "I think it might've been destroyed in an explosion on Eggman's ship."

Surprisingly, the man laughed. "That's the problem with confidentiality. If you're not in the loop, you have no idea what's going on. You see, Sonic, you _do_have the experiment. Or, rather, Miss Rose has it now." He looked at Lupa with a knowing smile. "Isn't that right, 76-803?"

Her ears flattened and she bared her fangs in a threatening growl. The man nodded slowly. "Intriguing," he mused. "Subject active and appears to be hostile. And yet has found suitable companions in less than an hour."

"What?" cried Sonic in shock. "She can't be the experiment! She's a person, not something to be experimented on!"

Tails and Amy voiced their agreement, but the scientist just shook his head. "If you knew the conditions under which we found her, you'd want to study her, too."

"She's a _person._ She doesn't belong to anybody," insisted Sonic. "What conditions would change that?"

"That's confidential. But rest assured everything we learn from her can and will be used to further our research and, ultimately, better society."

"So poking her with needles and watching her reactions will better society?" Shadow asked icily.

He returned the cold stare. "I wouldn't draw attention to myself if I were you, Ultimate Life Form."

Shadow glared at him, his quills bristling threateningly. "If you know who I am then you know what I can do. Or, at least, you _think_ you know."

"Are you offering to take her place then?" returned the scientist. "Our files on you are shamefully out of date and I personally would love to see what you can do."

"Allow me to educate you, then."

"All right settle down boys," a new voice said in an amused tone.

Everybody looked up at a figure perched in the leafy branches above them. In one graceful movement it leapt down towards them, spreading two dark wings on its back to slow its fall. Landing in their midst in a crouch, it straightened a very feminine body in a black jumpsuit with a large pink heart on the front and smiled at them from under hooded eyelids colored with a soft, blue eyeshadow. "Well, well. Looks like the whole gang's here," said Rouge the Bat,

"Agent Rouge? What are you doing here?" asked the professor with an unfriendly frown.

"Nice to see you too, Harding," she returned in her usual casual tone. "I just happened to be in the area and I thought I'd drop in and say hello."

"Don't give me that, bat girl."

Rouge frowned slightly and her large ears twitched at the derogatory name. "All right. I was sent here to receive a report on the newest addition to your little collection here, since you're being so secretive about it, even to us. However, I couldn't help overhearing that this wolf here _is_ the experiment. And there seems to be a bit of discussion about what's to be done with her." She began walking toward the bushes that Knuckles and Harding had come through. "But why don't we discuss this inside? You never know who's listening out here."

Harding stepped in front of her. "I'll lead the way to _my_ lab, if you don't mind. And be sure to bring my experiment with you," he added over his shoulder as he pushed through the brush.

Rouge sighed after he had left. "Sorry about that. He's tolerable on his own, but mess around with one of his science projects and he turns into _that_."

"You two know each other?" asked Shadow.

She shrugged. "We both do secret work for G.U.N., but let's just say we don't see eye to eye. He says he works for the benefit of society, but if that's the case, he cares surprisingly little about everything else when he's working."

"Maybe you can help us then," suggested Sonic. "He says Lupa here is a nothing more than an experiment to be researched on. We've got to make him see that she's more than that."

"I know. I don't like what he's doing either, but I don't have a lot of authority here, and he knows it. I'll do what I can, though." She turned to Lupa. "Lupa, was it? Don't worry about Harding. His bark is worse than his bite. We'll get you out of here."

Lupa regarded her carefully for a moment before bowing her head. "You have my many thanks, Agent Rouge."

Rouge raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Oh, you caught that, did you? You don't miss a thing. You were watching me the whole time I was up there, too. I guess I'm not as good a spy as I thought." She started off after Harding. "Well, we'd better catch up to Mr. Humanitarian. He hates to be kept waiting." She pushed through the thick bushes while everyone followed after her.

As they entered the large clearing beyond, Rouge gasped in shock at the sight that met them."What happened?"

The clearing was dotted with large, black craters that still smoldered and smoked though they were completely extinguished. In the center sat a massive pyramid, built with huge black stones carved into perfectly aligned bricks, each one the size of a small car. Moss and lichen had grown all over the ancient relic, and weather had worn it down over the centuries, but it was obviously no force of nature that had knocked down a huge chunk of one of the walls. Several of the bricks had fallen to the ground and crumbled into large, uneven shapes. Smoke trailed up from the remaining space, the remains of a fire that had burned inside of it. Through the hole, after several feet of charred stone and metal, tiled floors and broken glass could be seen glinting in the still strong sunlight that shone down into the clearing.

"Dr. Eggman happened, apparently," answered Sonic dryly. "He did a good job, too, by the looks of it."

"Why did he attack it?" wondered Rouge. "How did he even know it was here?"

"They said there was a complete power failure earlier," explained Tails. "They couldn't even get the emergency power to work. It left them completely vulnerable when Eggman showed up."

"That's weird," muttered Rouge. "Looks like my report is gonna be more complicated than I thought."

Lupa was looking around the clearing with an awed expression. Her black eyes seemed to take in everything from the damaged pyramid to the professors and scientists gathered off to the side. She still kept silent, but it was obvious her mind was racing underneath her quiet disposition.

"Weren't you here already?" Amy asked her curiously.

Lupa looked down at her before shaking her head. "I must have been inside. I did not see all this." She shuddered suddenly. "Much better out here."

"Don't worry, Lupa," said Sonic with a confident grin. "We'll make sure you get out of here. They're not gonna hurt you again. We're gonna help you."

"Why?" she asked, looking straight at him. "Why help me?"

"Why not?" he returned with a shrug. "Besides, we can't just leave you here with these guys, could we?"

"Yes, you could," she returned bluntly. "It would save you much trouble if you did."

He stared at her. "You're kidding right?" he asked, but her expression made it quite clear that she was dead serious. "Look, it's no trouble for us-"

"Yes it is. You could be gone from here, far away, doing something far better than helping me."

"But then you'd still be here by yourself," objected Amy.

"We want to help," added Tails.

She sighed and shrugged. "As you wish."

"You're welcome," muttered Knuckles sarcastically.

Rouge led the group towards the pyramid where professor waited impatiently with another scientist. "I was wondering when you were going to show up," he said as they approached. "Now let's head inside where we can discuss this in private."

As he headed toward what appeared to be a door at the base of the pyramid, the other man smiled friendlily at them. He was middle-aged with a receding hairline and had round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. "I'm Mr. LeDrew, Professor Harding's assistant. I hope this all gets sorted out quickly."

"Are you sure it's safe in there?" asked Tails doubtfully. It looks like the place is gonna cave in on us."

"Don't sweat it. Only the area where we were hit is at risk. Everywhere else is fine." He looked at the old structure with admiration. "It's amazing how something that old can withstand both the test of time and modern warfare and still stand as sturdily as it did when it was new. Anyway, let's go in."

They followed after Harding, who had opened an ancient-looking door that slid open automatically once he had punched in a code on a hidden panel and was moving down a well-lit corridor. The floors abruptly changed from stone to tile once inside, and doors led off to rooms on both sides of the long hall. At regular points, other hallways intersected the one they were on, creating a seemingly endless grid of halls and doors.

Sonic whistled, the sound echoing down the empty corridors. "It's like a maze in here," he observed with an impressed tone.

"Don't you guys ever get lost?" asked Tails.

"Not unless you're supposed to," replied Harding mysteriously.

Lupa kept taking uneasy glances around the enclosed space, and Shadow caught himself doing the same as they went in further, turning down hallway after hallway in a confusing path to wherever Harding was leading them. After reaching the end of one of them, Harding placed his hand on a scanner and typed in another code on a similar panel next to a door that opened up into a smaller hall lined with filing cabinets with another door at the end.

"LeDrew. 76-803. The rest of you, come with me please." Harding directed the group towards the door at the end of the hall. As he typed in another code, cameras attached to the ceiling swiveled around and pointed at the collection of outsiders gathered behind him. Small, red dots appeared all over their bodies, 20 or more on each of them. Lupa shrieked when she saw them and began dancing around and swatting at herself in a frenzy. The dots followed her relentlessly, however, even when they became a less dangerous green color.

"They're on standby," explained the professor. "Which means if you try anything, you'll probably be dead before you succeed." He watched as Lupa stopped jumping around and glared straight at him before glancing nervously at the green dots on her arms.

"Well, aren't we trusting today?" commented Rouge.

They entered through the door into a small room that had only a table and three chairs in it. Mr. LeDrew turned on a single overhead light as he entered behind them. Harding sat down in the chair farthest from them while his assistant placed a file in front of him.

"Now we can discuss what is to be done with 76-803," he said as he opened the file and began skimming through it.

Sonic frowned at him. "First off, her name's Lupa, not 76-whatever."

A pen appeared in the old man's hand. "Oh?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "And how would you know that?"

"She told us."

"Which means she can speak English." He gave Lupa a questioning look. "Doesn't it?"

She stared back with silent hostility.

"Your freedom may depend on your cooperation, _Lupa._"

She glared at him for a few more seconds before dropping her gaze in defeat. "Yes. I can," she answered quietly.

He scribbled down a few notes on some of the file's paper before looking back at her. "That changes things. What can you tell me?"

"Why don't you just leave her alone?" snapped Amy, taking a step forward.

"Why is she so important anyway?" asked Knuckles. "She seems pretty normal to me."

Harding was about to say something in response when Rouge spoke up first. "You know you're not going to get anywhere unless you tell us what's going on," she said with more than a hint of smugness.

He glared at her hard before looking around at the hostile looks from the other side of the table. He snorted grumpily and grudgingly gestured at Mr. LeDrew to take over. "Just the necessary facts," he grunted.

He smiled eagerly as he took the file from his superior. "Well, if it's her freedom we're discussing, this was probably gonna get out eventually anyway." He turned to his audience. "All right, well it all started three days ago in the far northern reaches of Rubersia."

"Rubersia? That frozen wasteland?" interrupted Sonic.

"Shh!" hissed Amy, elbowing him in the side. "Listen!"

"Actually, yes, the landscape we were examining was rather barren," he continued. "And it was in a massive glacier in this distant land that we found this." He pulled a photograph out of the file and placed it on the table, which everyone crowded around to see. It showed a team of scientists standing in front of a large block of ice held up by a crane. Inside the block, a black, rectangular object was suspended at a slight angle, looking about as tall as one of the scientists in front of it.

"What's that?" asked Tails.

"And what does it have to do with anything?" asked Sonic.

"We didn't know what it was, either. So we sent it here to run a more thorough analysis. We still don't know where it came from, but what we did find is incredible!"

"Watch it," growled Harding. "This is supposed to be a secret."

Mr. LeDrew continued as if he hadn't spoken. "It contained advanced technology, far beyond anything that we have. It would glow with patterns and strange runes when touched, like an advanced touch screen. And we also found out that it was hollow."

"Hollow?" repeated Knuckles.

"What was in it?" asked Tails.

The man smiled, thoroughly enjoying his moment in the spotlight. "Early this afternoon, after hours of trying to translate the runes, we finally figured out how to open it." He paused to build suspense. "There was a bit of controversy as to whether we should release whatever it was that was so obviously hidden from the world. But curiosity got the better of us and we proceeded to open it.

"It was a slow process," he continued, "but fascinating to watch! Several seals opened, one after another, and when the last one went, a blast of energy was suddenly released from it, sending all of us flying. Our energy readers were completely overpowered by it, and they're designed to read the energy levels of the Chaos Emeralds. It also knocked our power offline, which is what left us vulnerable to attack."

Sonic and Shadow exchanged a look. They knew exactly what energy he was talking about. They had both felt it, even though they had been miles away.

"So the container only held energy?" inquired Tails.

"Oh, no. The energy was only a discharge of what it really contained." He leaned forward dramatically. "I bet you can guess what it held. Here's a hint: why am I telling you this?"

Tails frowned thoughtfully. "Because we were talking about…" He stopped as the answer came to him. They had all figured it out and were staring at the orange wolf in their midst.

She was staring intently at the photograph on the table. "So that is how I came here," she murmured, almost to herself.

"But what were you doing in that thing?" asked Knuckles.

"And how long?" inquired Shadow, looking at the two scientists.

"It's hard to tell," replied Mr. LeDrew. "Both her and the containment device were preserved perfectly in that glacier. But measuring the amount of ice they were buried under, we can roughly estimate about…"

"Six and a half thousand years," finished Harding.

"Give or take a century or two," added LeDrew.

Gasps and soft exclamations went around the group as they stared again at Lupa. She looked back at them in confusion, taking a step back fearfully. "I… I do not understand. How long is six… and a half… thousand…" she trailed off as understanding dawned on her. She sank to her knees, staring distantly at the floor. "_M-mestilah,_" she breathed in shock.

"And now that we've told you what we know, perhaps you'd like to tell us what you know," suggested Harding.

She looked up at him and then back down. Sonic stepped forward instead. "How about I go first? Maybe we can get this all straightened out." He began to relate all that had transpired only a few hours before, from the plane crash to the discovery of Lupa in the jungle. He left out the part about the images he saw and the emotions he had felt, though, and just stuck to the main facts.

When he mentioned Lupa's Chaos Control ability, the two scientists exchanged a look. Then, as Mr. LeDrew wrote down something, Harding looked between Shadow and Lupa with a knowing smile. Shadow glared back at him while Lupa lowered her gaze submissively.

"After I chased her around the island, I met up with Shadow," finished Sonic, thumbing in his direction.

Harding looked at Shadow. "Care to share your experiences?" he asked dryly.

"I felt the energy and the need to follow it here," he started. "I didn't know what to look for until I teamed up with Sonic and confronted her." He paused and nodded at Lupa. "I don't know where she got her powers, but we weren't the first ones to notice them. She's been trained to use them. And well."

"Hmm," mused the old professor as he wrote down some more notes.

"Yeah," added Sonic. "But she wasn't trying to attack us. She kept trying to run away from us. She only did anything to us when we touched her."

"You touched her?" repeated Amy suspiciously.

"Well, yeah, when she ran into me," he explained. "That involves… physical contact, you know?"

"Right," she said, unconvinced.

"And?" encouraged Harding. "What happened after this touch?"

Sonic frowned. "It's… hard to explain. She… zapped us, or something."

"That's not very specific. Can't you explain it more?"

"Not really," he replied. Then he turned to Lupa. "But I can show you." He approached her as she watched him with wide, dark eyes. He held out his hands to her. "If it's okay with you," he said friendlily.

She looked at him nervously, then at the waiting group behind him, then down at his hands. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes tight and grabbed his wrists hard.

Sonic clenched his teeth in reaction to the energy that immediately rushed through him again. It felt like being electrocuted, the intense power burning him inside with intense heat and almost unbearable pain. He felt like he was spinning in midair with no sense of which way was up. He gasped quick breaths whenever he could manage and wondered how much longer he could keep this up.

Finally, he released his grip on her and he cried out as he found himself flying backwards through the air. He landed on his side and slid back on the smooth tile floor. He heard Amy call out his name and looked up to see her standing over him anxiously. He smiled up at her reassuringly, then recoiled as a final surge of energy ran through him before leaving him completely.

He lay there, breathing hard and covered in a sticky sweat. Everybody in the room was glancing between him and Lupa with different levels of awe or concern on their faces. She leaned against the far wall, staring at him and breathing just as hard as he was. She looked as if she had been pushed there, but hadn't she pushed him? She gingerly rubbed her arm as a small green dot stayed trained on her hand. Maybe not.

"Amazing," whispered Harding, breaking the silence. He gave Shadow a questioning look. "Did anything like that happen to you?"

"I didn't hold on as long as he did," he answered. "And _that_ didn't happen. But, yes, I did have a similar reaction."

"Mm-hm," mumbled Harding as he returned his attention to his paper.

Sonic slowly stood up. "Ugh. What do you mean that didn't happen? Yes it did. You were there!"

"Just now was different. This time there was an instant where you were in your Super Form," Shadow explained calmly.

Sonic blinked. "I was?" He looked himself over quickly, but he was still the same blue he usually was. "Whoa. How long did I hold on?"

"About ten seconds," answered Tails. He looked over at Lupa, who was cowering in the corner with her arms wrapped around herself. He stepped over to help her, but she withdrew when he approached. He looked back at Sonic. "If I touch her, will I…?"

"I don't think so. Amy held her arm earlier and nothing happened. I think it's just me and Shadow."

Tails nodded and held out his hand to her. She drew back again and watched him in wide-eyed fear. "Is that why you're so afraid to touch people? Because that happens?" he asked gently.

She shook her head. "N-no. That has never happened before," she answered softly. She stared at his hand for a few more seconds before reaching out with exaggerated caution and gingerly accepting the gesture.

Tails smiled. "See? It's fine," he said encouragingly as he gently pulled her out of the corner. She just nodded and looked cautiously at the others in the room.

"Would somebody explain what's going on?" Knuckles suddenly spoke up. "Who is she? Why did that just happen? _What_ just happened?"

"Maybe she can give us the answers," said Harding, with a nod at Lupa. "Everything seems to end up with you. Surely you can tell us something?"

She looked down reluctantly. "I… I cannot…" she mumbled, drawing into herself.

Mr. LeDrew gave her an encouraging smile. "Let's try one thing at a time," he suggested. "How did you end up in that container in the first place?"

She looked up at him and then down again. "We... We were running – my family and I. We had escaped the city of Marinna with only our lives after an army of traitors had destroyed it." Her eyed glazed distantly as everyone listened intently to her story. "We were hiding in a cave when they caught up to us. We all knew that we were going to die."

She closed her eyes sadly. "There were two friends with us. They brought that... thing with us, but would not tell us why. They… Just as our enemies had come upon us, they put me inside of it. But not before I watched them all die." Her voice cracked and she paused to clear her throat before looking back up at Harding steadily. "And then I awoke here with you."

The room was silent except for the scratching of the professor's pen. Everyone stared at her, but she kept her gaze locked on him. Finally, he looked up her. "These 'friends' of yours… did they say where they were from?"

"No. they only said they were from far away."

"I see. And why would they sacrifice themselves to save you?"

She hesitated. "I… I was… what the army was after. They tried to protect me."

"And why would an entire army be after one little wolf?"

"I knew their leader. We… argued. Or, my family argued with him about me. Then… the city… the people…" she trailed off, shaking with emotion. Then she sighed to calm herself slightly. "I do not know why they fought over me. So much life would have been spared if they had just let him…"

"Could your ability to use the Chaos Control have anything to do with the disagreement between your family and the invading army?" pressed Harding.

She gave him a perplexed look. "Chaos… Control?"

"Your ability to warp great distances in an instant or temporarily stop time using the energy of a Chaos Emerald, which you don't appear to have in your possession. You were reported to have used it today in your run around the island."

"Oh," she said. "It… might have. It was bigger than me, but the city should not have been part of it."

"I suppose not. But I'm afraid it's a little late for that," said Harding as he wrote down more notes.

"Where did you learn to do that?" asked Mr. LeDrew.

"I first learned of my… ability when I was quite young," she answered slowly. "I am unsure if I was born with it, though. No one else in my family could do it."

"But do you know how, exactly, you obtained it?"

"…No. I was far too young to remember."

"Mm-hm," mumbled Harding again.

"You know, I just realized something," spoke up Rouge. "You're dressed rather strangely for a Rubersian, even if you are from six thousand years ago."

Lupa cocked her head to one side. "What is a Ru… Ruber…"

"A Rubersian is an inhabitant of the country of Rubersia," explained Harding. "That's the country where we found you. It's a cold place far in the north, usually covered in a layer of snow. Agent Rouge has a point. That thin dress and sandals would hardly be practical in such a climate."

She frowned again, looking even more confused. "Cold? Only at night. We were running north, but we did not get far."

"Actually, now that I think about it, six thousand years ago, most of civilization was situated around the Central Continent," brought up Mr. LeDrew. "Were you living near a desert, by any chance?"

She nodded. "Yes. A great desert stretched far to the east of the valley we lived in. The city itself was built by a great river that flowed from the mountains in the north. And, though it did not rain much, no one went thirsty."

"That sounds a lot like the Ara Valley to me," concluded Harding.

"But how did you get all the way to Rubersia?" wondered Sonic.

"The machine she was in must have increased the power of her Chaos Control," said Shadow.

"One last question," piped up Mr. LeDrew. "What was the name of your country?"

"Tara-Luna," she replied, her slight accent making it sound exotic and ancient.

Harding "hmmed" while Mr. LeDrew frowned in confusion. "I've never heard of that country. Tara-Luna," he repeated to himself thoughtfully.

"You can see why we want to study her," Harding commented from behind his papers.

Sonic frowned at him. "Hasn't she been through enough?"

He put down his papers and looked back at the group. "Why do you have to be like that? I'm not an unreasonable man." He folded his fingers in front of him. "Psychologically, it would be quite destructive to keep her here after all that she's experienced. I can see that now. Therefore, I propose a compromise. We'll let you take her with you if we keep the container she was sealed in."

Sonic looked over at Lupa. "Is that okay with you?" he asked her.

She blinked at him. "Uhh… yes," she answered uncertainly. "I have no need for it. P-Please, take it."

"Also," the scientist continued, "everything you have seen and heard here must remain confidential. We appreciate your assistance in helping us recover from our sudden attack, but for the sake of your country, we require your silence."

"Sure, no problem!" agreed Sonic with a grin.

"You can count on us!" added Tails.

"Good," replied Harding. "Because if we're found out in any way, you will be our primary suspects in the search for the guilty."

"Nothing personal of course," muttered Rouge as she rolled her eyes.

"Do you want your report or don't you?" he snapped back.

"Well I'm not allowed to leave until I get it, so it depends on how long you want me around."

He muttered something under his breath and returned his attention to his file. His assistant smirked in amusement and also began organizing his papers.

"Can we go now?" asked Knuckles impatiently.

"One more thing," replied Harding. "We didn't get the chance to learn much about her before we were attacked. And any data we did manage to collect was lost in the attack. Even what we've learned now has only led to more questions. If we can't have her, then a sample of her blood wouldn't be too much to ask, would it?"

Sonic turned to Lupa again. "What do you think?"

She shrugged. "Is fine with me," she answered quietly.

"Good!" exclaimed Harding, finally showing some emotion. "Doug, take our guests outside and return their plane to them. I'll take care of that blood sample and I'll even finish up that report for you, Rouge."

Rouge raised her eyebrows in surprise but kept her mouth shut. Mr. LeDrew opened the door and held it open for the group. "Meeting adjourned. This way, please."

"And leave her with him?" returned Amy.

"I thought we were trying to avoid that," added Knuckles.

"I will be fine," said Lupa, looking at them with an almost hostile expression. "You should not be concerned about me."

Tails frowned. "You sure?"

"Yes."

"All I want is a simple blood sample," interjected Harding. "It shouldn't take more than ten minutes. Then I'll send her out to you."

"…All right," agreed Sonic. "We'll wait outside. Ten minutes?"

"At most. I appreciate your cooperation, Sonic."

"Forget about it. Isn't that what you want us to do?" he retorted as he headed for the open door. Everyone followed in turn, leaving the professor and the wolf alone in the room.

As he led them through the maze of hallways, Mr. LeDrew began to laugh in delight. "That was great! I'd pay money to see that again!"

"I'm surprised he let her go," said Rouge. "There must be something special in her blood."

"…You could say that."

"And he's doing up my report personally. That's so unlike him. He must be in a really good mood."

"Ha!" laughed Knuckles. "If that's him in a good mood, I'd hate to see him upset!"

"I can't believe she's from over six thousand years ago," mused Tails. "That container must be an advanced hibernation chamber. She must be pretty special, too, if she can survive being frozen for that long."

"A lot longer than you were, Shadow," said Sonic with a smirk in his direction. "And remember the way she fought in the jungle? Looks like you might not be the only Ultimate Life Form around here anymore."

"That's absurd," he returned with a glare at Sonic. "She may be quick, and she seems to be skilled in the use of Chaos Control, but I don't see any other skills that label her as ultimate."

"I still don't feel right about leaving her alone in there," said Amy. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone look so scared before. I hope she's gonna be all right."

Sonic chuckled. "I wouldn't worry about her. She seems small and weak, but you should have seen her and Shadow fight. I'd be more concerned with the professor."

"I wonder who she is, though," said Tails. "She's quiet and shy, and yet trained for extreme combat. Maybe she was a soldier, or something."

"Does it really matter who she was? What she is now is a scared girl alone in a brand new world," said Sonic. "After all she's been through, I think what she needs most is a friend. Someone to let her know she's not alone. Someone who wants to find out who she _is_ more than who she _was_. Any takers?" he asked with a grin.

"Of course!" answered Amy.

"Absolutely!" agreed Tails.

"Sure," said Knuckles with a shrug.

"If I see her around, I'll say hi," offered Rouge.

"Hm," grunted Shadow dismissively.

"It's good to see you doing this for her," said Mr. LeDrew. "I'm sure she'll appreciate it once everything's calmed down."

"Well, she called, so we answered," replied Sonic.

"Speaking of which, it was awfully nice of you to stand up for her back there," Rouge commented to Shadow.

"Huh. Believe what you want, but the only reason I'm in here at all is because you dragged me down here to argue with him. And there was no way I was going to be on _that_ imbecile's side."

"If you say so, Shadow," said Sonic.

The large, old-looking doors slid open and sunlight greeted the group as they stepped outside. As Mr. LeDrew moved towards a collection of tents off to their right, Rouge went off to the left. "I think my services are required elsewhere. See you guys around, and good luck with Lupa. She sounds like quite a handful."

"Thanks for all your help," said Tails sincerely.

"Don't mention it. Anything to get Harding off of his high horse. Especially since I got to spend some quality time with my favorite treasure hunter," she replied with a teasing wink at Knuckles.

He blinked in surprise, then folded his arms across his chest and smiled smugly. "So, you finally admit it, do you?"

"Of course. I always look better next to you."

He flinched as the retort sank in. "WHAT?" he yelled back, his face reddening in both outrage and embarrassment."What are you talking about? I can out-hunt you any day of the week, bat girl!"

"Whatever you say," she said before heading for another back of the clearing.

"Good riddance," muttered the echidna as he turned back to the group, still blushing. He took a moment to glare fiercely at Sonic, who could barely contain his laughter, before following Mr. LeDrew again.

As they approached the tents, a team of scientists came out to greet them. Leading them was the young man they had left in the jungle, supported on crutches that seemed to be quite a few sizes too small for him.

"Hi! I heard you got the experiment back! That's great! Sorry I couldn't be more useful back there," he apologized.

"Don't sweat it," said Sonic. "Good to see you're okay. We're here to get Tails's plane so we can take a friend of ours back to Amcarnia with us."

"Oh, yeah, sure! It's right over here." He directed them behind one of the tents where the Tornado X-Z stood, its wings fully extended and its underside looking as it had never been damaged.

Tails ran up to it eagerly when he saw it. "You fixed it! That's excellent!" he cheered as he began a quick inspection of the repaired craft.

"We also gave it a battery, since it looked like you lost the one you had, or something," explained the young scientist. "It might not be what it's used to, but it should get you to Amcarnia without any problems."

"Thank you so much! This is great!" exclaimed Tails happily. He climbed into the pilot's seat for a more thorough examination of the wiring and controls.

"Wait 'till Lupa sees this!" said Sonic. "Think she'll believe it'll fly?"

The crutch-laded man frowned in confusion. "Lupa? Who's that?"

"She's our new friend," replied Amy. "But you might know her better as 'the experiment'," she added icily.

His eyes widened in surprise. "R-really?" He turned to Mr. LeDrew. "Can they do that?" he asked in bewilderment.

"They can and they are," he answered. "Professor Harding's finishing preparations now. He's even offered to write up a report on her. As soon as he's done, these guys are free to go, as far as I'm concerned."

"B-but what about security?" he stammered. "I thought this was all top-secret stuff, and you're letting them just walk away with it? I mean, no offense to you guys, but we can't just give this kind of information out to every person that happens to be in the area," he explained to the group.

"We're only taking Lupa," returned Sonic simply.

"And we're not gonna tell anybody," added Amy.

"We don't even know where we are," pointed out Tails.

"Well, that's just dandy. But how can we believe what you say?" the injured man asked, narrowing is eyes suspiciously.

"Look, Jackson, unless you want a pile of paperwork to deal with, I think we should trust them," Mr. LeDrew chided him. "We already have enough to deal with now, and I'm not willing to add more stress on top of that by questioning the trustworthiness of heroes who have repeatedly saved the world. Besides," he added, "if it's security you're so concerned about, why did you lead them here in the first place?"

Jackson flinched at that last remark and hobbled off with a mumbled apology. Everyone watched him leave in awkward silence. Mr. LeDrew just shook his head. "He's a bright kid, but he needs to cool it sometimes." He looked up at Tails. "Anyway, you need a runway, right? We'll set that up for you. You just sit tight." He motioned to the other scientists to follow and led them off somewhere.

"Finally," grunted Knuckles. "I've got to get back to Angel Island."

"I don't know if I can go that far," said Tails from the cockpit. "Not on this battery. I can probably get as far as Newtopia, but-"

"Newtopia?" repeated Amy excitedly. "That's perfect! Let's go there! What better way to introduce Lupa to civilization?"

Knuckles shook his head. "Fine. Drop me off there. You guys go have your little vacation, while I go find a way back to my island."

"Oh, come on! After today, we need a vacation! Especially Lupa. Imagine watching everybody you care about get killed before getting trapped in time for over six thousand years."

Shadow sighed almost inaudibly. It wasn't that hard to imagine.

"By the way, do you need a lift?" Sonic asked him.

He looked at him. "Don't you remember why we're here? We were following the energy that Lupa was discharging. Maybe your contact with her lessened the urgency to follow her, but it hasn't changed with me. I have to stay near her."

"Now that you mention it, I don't feel it so much anymore," admitted Sonic. "But I still know where she is. What do you think it means?"

"If anyone knows, it's her. We can ask her when we're well out of earshot of these clowns."

"Sounds like a plan. Here they come."

Everybody looked in the direction Sonic had indicated to see Harding leading Lupa towards them. He nodded in acknowledgement as they drew near, while she watched the ground shyly. The only sign that anything had happened to her was a wad of cotton strapped to her upper arm with an elastic band.

"That was fast," commented Amy.

Harding nodded. "She was very cooperative. You'd almost think she'd had one done before." He looked down at her and gestured at the group. "I'm finished with you now. You can go with them."

She nodded and stepped forward, bowing her head low as she did. She kept her eyes down and positioned herself next to Amy.

Jackson came up just then and, after a questioning look between Lupa and Harding, reported, "The runway's all set up. Mr. LeDrew and Rouge say goodbye."

"Oh, right. Her report," said Harding. "If you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Have a good flight and hopefully we won't see each other again." He walked towards the pyramid purposefully without looking back.

"Well he's just a ray of sunshine, isn't he?" commented Sonic dryly.

"Who cares? Let's get out of here," said Knuckles as he climbed into the Tornado X-Z. "How soon until we can leave?" he asked Tails.

"As soon as everyone's aboard," he answered good-naturedly.

"All right! C'mon guys!" exclaimed Sonic. He hopped into the plane and stepped over to Knuckles. Shadow jumped into the back, while Amy helped pull Lupa in.

"Oh, look. There are only four seats. We'll have to make room," said Amy with a flirtatious look at Sonic.

"That's okay. I don't need one," announced Sonic as he jumped up onto the wing that ran above the bi-plane. He centered himself and dangled his feet over the edge. "Good to go up here!" he called down happily.

Amy sighed in disappointment. "That wasn't what I had in mind."

"Erm, p-pardon," started Lupa quietly. "But where are we going?"

Amy immediately lit up. "We're going to Newtopia! You're gonna see the best vacation spot in the world. And we're gonna fly there!"

"Fly?" echoed Lupa. "Like a bird?"

"Yup!" answered Tails. "It'll probably take us a few hours to get there, so make yourself comfortable."

She nodded uncertainly and sat down next to Amy. Knuckles sat in the back beside Shadow, where the two did their best to ignore the other's presence.

Jackson pointed ahead with one of his crutches. "The runway's just up ahead, beyond that big tent. It's pointed towards Amcarnia already, so you can adjust your course, but stay in the relative direction. They've called an all-clear, so you might want to leave sooner than later. Have a good flight, and sorry about all this." He began to back up, then stopped suddenly. "Wait a minute. You said Newtopia, right? I've got a buddy who lives there. Think you can find him and give him this?" He passed a small package up to Tails. "I'd mail it myself, but it'd get there faster if you took it, seeing as how you're going there anyways. You can find him at the Glamoria Hotel."

"Sure!" agreed Tails and stored the small package inside his glove for safe keeping. He waited until Jackson had limped to a safe distance before starting up the engine. It whined as it adjusted to the different power source, then sprang to life with a roar. Tails eased it forward and maneuvered it around the path between the tents.

Around the last corner, the previously invisible runway stretched on to the trees that ringed the area. A long, concrete slab and lights had appeared where there had only been grass, and even a windsock fluttered in the breeze from a recently erected pole.

Tails surged ahead, while Sonic waved at the people standing around from his perch on the wing. A few people waved back, while others just shook their heads. Among those that waved were Mr. LeDrew and Jackson, grinning broadly as they passed.

Lupa gripped the armrest of her seat harder as the plane accelerated. She sat up rigidly, staring ahead while taking shallow breaths. She gasped as it lifted off the ground and cleared the trees. Glancing up, she saw Sonic grinning confidently down at her. He gave her a thumbs up sign, and she relaxed her hold on the armrest a little.

They climbed higher and higher into the sky, finally leveling off high above the ocean. Looking back, the island far below them looked as normal as any other island. There was absolutely no sign of the secrets hidden in its jungle.

"_Mestilah_," said Lupa as she stared down at the wide, blue ocean beneath them. The wind blew the bound lock of fur out behind her, so it stuck out at almost a right angle to her face. "Impossible. How can this be? How can something of stone fly?"

"It's not made of stone, it's metal," corrected Tails with a small laugh. "And it's all a matter of aerodynamics. The wings are designed to let the wind pass over them in a way that lifts the plane into the sky."

"Oh," she said, as if she understood. "Then how do we get down?"

"Oh, that's easy. Tails just steers it down slowly and lands us nice and easy on the ground," explained Amy.

"Oh," she repeated. She looked down with a thoughtful expression for a few seconds before taking a slow breath. "I… I must thank you all for your efforts in taking me away from those who wished me harm. However, I have nothing to offer you in return for your kindness but my service. I hope that it is enough, as I have nothing else," she said in a clear voice that even reached Sonic over the plane's engine.

"What?" he asked, staring down at her in surprise. "You don't have to do that."

She looked up at him in confusion. "Then what must I do?"

"You don't have to do anything," Amy told her.

"Then why did you help me?"

"Why not?" replied Sonic casually. "Besides, you were the one who called for help."

"Yes. You spoke of that, but I did no such thing," she informed him steadily.

"Then how do you explain how we were drawn here?" asked Shadow.

"I… I know nothing of this energy of which you spoke of," she answered shyly. "After I was put inside that… thing, I awoke in a strange place surrounded by those people. I was very cold, and I could barely move at all. They poked me and held me down and… forced things inside of me."

She shuddered briefly before continuing. "Then there was a great sound, very loud, and there was smoke and people screaming and another man came in and took me to another place. He began doing the same things that the others had done, but he was not as careful as the others had been, and I had recovered enough strength to escape when he was not looking. He had two strange… metal people chase me into a loud room with many moving things. I was trapped, and it looked as though they meant me harm, so I… moved." She frowned as she said this. "No, that is wrong, I…"

"Warped," finished Shadow. "You activated a Chaos Control, using your energy to move through space."

Her eyes widened. "Yes. And there was another loud sound, much closer. I ran again, but more of those strange men chased me. I entered another room that looked like the other one had, and the man was there, the one that had brought me to that place. With him before me and others behind, I was trapped again. But before I could do anything, the two who had first chased me suddenly appeared and breathed fire at me. I remember fire, and yelling, and a great sound and… I fell."

She shook her head as if to clear it, and then looked up at Sonic. "Then I met you in the forest. I told you to leave me alone, and you, as well," she added with a nod at Shadow. "But I did not ask for help in any way. What you felt and followed may be connected to me in some way, but I know nothing about it."

The plane's engine was the only sound for several seconds. Then Sonic chuckled. "So, Eggman did blow himself up, huh? That's not surprising."

Lupa blinked. "Egg…man?" she asked slowly.

"The guy who chased you," explained Amy. "He was a tall, old guy with a big mustache, right?"

"Yes. He was… bald, and… round and he had dark things over his eyes," she informed them while gesturing to herself.

"That's him alright," said Knuckles.

"Do you know him?" she asked. "I am sorry, but I do not know what became of him."

"Eh, don't worry about him," said Sonic. "He's survived worse."

She nodded and looked down at the floor.

"You've really been through a lot today," said Tails sympathetically. "If you stay with us, we can help you start over."

She stared at him. "Why are you helping me?" she asked again.

"Because it's the right thing to do," answered Amy.

Lupa stared around at everyone in turn. She received nods and smiles from everyone but Shadow, who just continued regarding her silently. "Then, I must thank you, since I cannot convince you otherwise," she concluded.

Sonic grinned. "You got that right! We're kinda stubborn like that. Now let's head out for civilization!"

"All right! Newtopia, here we come!" cheered Tails as he encouraged a burst of speed from the plane.

Meanwhile, back at the lab, Professor Harding had just received two disturbing reports.

The first had come from the person in charge of keeping stock of materials who had informed him that there was a significant amount of steel plates, and other heavy building materials unaccounted for, and that the weapons storage area had been raided as well.

The second report had come from the party sent out to secure Dr. Eggman's ship. Not only was it nowhere in sight, but their radar couldn't pick it up in any direction, either.

As he rolled the long vial that contained the wolf's blood between his fingers, he sighed and spoke to his ever-present assistant. "Hand Agent Rouge her report, and include a list of all the materials that have gone missing. Also include this letter that states that they are most likely in the possession of Dr. Eggman, and that I take full responsibility for his escape." The orange liquid glistered in the vial as he put it down.

He looked up at Mr. LeDrew, the lines around his eyes even more pronounced than usual. "One occurrence after another, too many connections to be coincidence. This is going to be big, Doug. Let's make sure we're not completely off guard when it hits."

* * *

**A.N.:** Ta-dah! OC introduction! Everybody seems to be accepting her pretty readily. Cheesy, aren't they?

I'm not a hundred percent sure that everybody was in character this chapter. Like I stated earlier, I'm still getting the hang of this fanfiction thing. Things will hopefully improve as I progress.

By the way, in case you didn't guess, Rubersia is pretty much Siberia, the Ara Valley is kinda like Mesopotamia (Arabia?), and Amcarnia is basically America. I guess Newtopia would be like Las Vegas or Los Angelas or something like that, which is why Amy's so excited. ;)

R&R please!


	4. Questions, Answers and Ice Cream

**A.N.:** Wow. Here I am again, a heck of a lot faster than I thought I'd be. Thanks for you patience guys, but I assure you I will not be making a habit of this quick-update thing. Sorry.

Anyhoo, first and foremost, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Silhouette the Daemon Wolf for putting up with me for over two weeks and for drawing Lupa for me. She is very talented, and she's not quite finished yet, but I will be posting a link to it on my profile when it is completed. Thank you so much!

I'd also like to thank Cammie-Strone and Kermita for their editing help. Without you, there would be (GASP!) sentences that wouldn't make sense and (GASP AGAIN!) unnecessary spelling errors. Thank you!

AND thanks for all those mentioned above, as well as Eve Royal for your always appreciated support. I realize this is beginning to sound like an award acceptance speech, but it means a lot to me, it really does!

Right, disclaimers. Ahem! All the Sonic the Hedgehog characters, powers, world, etc belong to Sega. Lupa is mine, as is her language (Dibs! Property of You Can Call Me Nora!), and so are a few other characters that have shown up in this chapter. You'll know 'em when you see 'em. Please let them be. Oh yeah. Tony the Tiger belongs to Kelloggs Frosted Flakes cereal, as does their catchphrase. We all know it. And the 'Underprivileged Brother' line was taken from the movie 'Twelve Angry Men.'

Anyway, enough of that stuff, here's what you're really looking for!

* * *

Chapter 3 – Questions, Answers and Ice Cream

"Why the long face, Lupa?"

The sun was beginning to set as the Tornado X-Z continued its northward trek. The trip so far had lasted several hours, and Tails had estimated another half hour of travel before landing in Newtopia.

It had been a relatively quiet flight with limited conversation, what with Shadow's antisocial nature and Lupa's timid demeanor. She had only spoke when spoken to, and had not expanded or opened up at all when they tried to ask her about herself. She had spent most of the trip staring out at the horizon or at the floor with a somber expression.

When she heard Sonic's question, she perked her head up and looked at him attentively. "Long… face?" she repeated touching her face in puzzlement.

"Er, I mean, you're so upset," he explained patiently from where he still sat on the wings. "Are you okay? 'Cause you don't have to worry about those scientists guys anymore. You're safe now."

"Yeah, and Tails has been flying forever," added Amy. "You don't have to worry about anything with him at the wheel!"

"No, it is not that," answered Lupa quietly. "It is just… everything is so new. Nothing is the same. Everything I once knew… is gone." She returned her gaze to the horizon. "And I am unsure how to react to that."

"Well, I'm sure your family would want you to be happy," brought up Tails. "Especially since they tried so hard to protect you."

"Pah!" Lupa suddenly spat out a disgusted laugh. "They were merely protecting my abilities, to keep them out of our enemies' hands," she snapped as she glared at the ocean below with anger blazing in her eyes. Then, just as suddenly, the anger was replaced with a pained sadness. "Only Neguuma and Rregnis…" she trailed off.

"Who were they?" asked Amy.

Lupa shook her head. "It matters not. They are long dead, and far better off than when they knew me." She looked back up at the setting sun as it turned the sky a shade of orange that almost matched her own fur. "At least some things remain the same. The sun still sets, life still goes on. I suppose it is something to hold onto in this strange place where even flying is possible."

Just then, her ears pricked and swiveled towards the front of the plane. She looked ahead alertly and quickly stepped up behind Tails.

"What's up?" Sonic called down.

"_You_ are up, the trouble is ahead," she answered. "I hear strange noises up ahead that I have never heard before. And there is something in the distance."

"What's it look like?" asked Tails.

"It is large and uneven. And… I see lights."

"I don't see anything," reported Sonic. "You must have really good eyesight, or something."

She hesitated. "…If you say so. What do you think is ahead?" she asked hastily.

"Hmm. Lights and noise? Sounds like civilization to me," said Sonic. "Maybe we're closer than you thought, Tails."

"Alright! We made it!" cheered Amy.

Lupa looked at her uncertainly. "Are you sure? I… could be mistaken."

"We'll have to wait and see," said Tails.

They continued on towards their destination as the sun disappeared and the sky darkened around them. After a couple minutes of anticipative flight, the lights of a distant city came into view on the horizon. The jagged pattern of skyscrapers and office buildings began taking shape as they drew nearer.

"Land ho!" declared Sonic as the first lights became visible.

"Yes! Newtopia at last!" cheered Amy.

Lupa's eyes widened. "_That_ is your city? But it is so big! What do those lights mean? Is there danger?"

Tails laughed. "No, no, those are just the city lights. People turn the lights on at night so they can see."

"Turn… the lights… on?"

This time Sonic laughed. "We've got a lot to show you, Lupa. Welcome to the 21st century!"

Tails flew the plane in towards the city lights, encouraging the engines to full speed. As they passed over the harbor, Knuckles stood up and stepped over to the side.

"This is where I get off. See ya around," he said and jumped out into the night air.

"No!" gasped Lupa as she dashed to the rim. She leaned over it and watched open- mouthed as the echidna stretched out Superman-style and glided over the busy streets below.

Amy stepped over beside her. "Don't worry about him. He'll be fine," she told her reassuringly.

"H-how does he do that?"

She frowned. "I'm not really sure. It's pretty cool, though. Anyway, we'd better sit down for the landing, okay?" She tried to take her arm and lead her back to her seat, but as soon as she touched the wolf's arm, she drew it back suddenly, as if in pain. She stared at Amy in wide-eyed panic for a second, then looked down, mumbled an apology and made her way back to her seat, carefully avoiding any contact with her.

The Tornado X-Z gradually dipped lower and lower as the city blurred beneath them. Once they cleared the downtown area, buildings and roads began spreading out in all directions as far as the eye could see. They continued on to the airport which sat outside the main city in a large field. Lights illuminated the runways and vehicles drove from the buildings to the waiting planes.

"Are you sure it's safe to land here?" asked Amy.

Tails nodded. "Yup. They've been watching us come in and signaled clearance for us. They've got a little runway that's not being used right now. It's the one with the blue lights, see?"

They looked ahead and saw the saw runway he indicated, blue lights running down it. As Tails came in for a landing, Lupa gripped the armrests again in tense uncertainty.

"All right, we're coming in!" Tails called out and directed the plane right down the middle of the thin strip of road. As soon as its wheels touched the ground, Sonic leapt off his perch and began running alongside the plane as it rolled down the runway.

The two girls leaned over to watch him and he flashed him his usual grin before dashing on ahead. Amy sighed and shook her head with a smile. Lupa looked between him and her questioningly but didn't say anything.

The plane gradually slowed down as it travelled down the runway. Sonic stood near the end of it, waiting for his friends. Tails skillfully directed the Tornado towards the hedgehog, coming to a full stop right in front of him. Sonic stepped around to the side of the plane. "Nice landing, Tails. We're here, guys! Come on down!" he called out.

Amy and Lupa jumped out and stepped over beside him. He greeted them with a friendly nod, and then frowned up at the plane.

"C'mon, Shadow. You need an invitation, or something?" he called up.

Tails glanced back at the seat behind him. "He's not up here," he informed the over the engine's noise.

"Really? Where'd he go?" wondered Sonic with a quick look around. "Anyone see where he went?"

"He left," answered Lupa. "Just before you jumped off, he did. He went that way." She pointed off to the left, away from the airport. "Sh-should I have stopped him?" she asked nervously.

"Nah. He'll be fine," replied Sonic. "It wasn't very nice, though, taking off on us like that."

"I thought he said he couldn't leave," brought up Amy. "What happened to that?"

"Yeah. Maybe he's trying to break free of it, or something. Whatever it is, I'm sure he'll take care of it himself." He waved up at Tails, signaling that everything was fine and Tails pointed ahead at the airport buildings. Sonic nodded. "Okay! We'll meet you inside!" Tail gave him a thumbs up and drove toward the hangar.

"It's a good thing Tails has a good reputation with these guys. Didn't they give him a free pass to all the airports in the country a couple of months ago?" wondered Amy.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I think he helped organize the air traffic after Eggman hacked into the system and trashed it. Remember that? So now he's got his own runway at every airport in the country. It sure makes it easy for us when we need to get around in a hurry. Now let's get something to eat! I'm starving!"

They eagerly headed inside and made their way to one of the restaurants that sat in the lobby. Sonic ordered himself and Lupa some sandwiches and they all sat down to wait for Tails.

Sonic immediately began devouring his meal while Lupa stared curiously at hers. She picked it up and sniffed it uncertainly. Amy giggled as she watched her. "I know it's not what you're used to, but people eat these every day," she told her. "Just look at him!"

Sonic shoved the rest of the sandwich into his mouth and winked at them friendlily.

Lupa looked back at Amy, then took a tentative bite out her own. Her eyes widened, her ears perked straight up and she let out a squeak of amazement. Then she dove into it ravenously, consuming it even faster than Sonic had.

"Whoa! Easy, there!" exclaimed Sonic. "Slow down!"

His words were lost on her, however, as she finished the first half of it and barely took enough time to draw a breath before grabbing the second half and inhaling it just as quickly.

"Careful! You'll choke on it!" cried Amy.

She didn't, though, and after she swallowed the last of it, she sat there, breathing heavily and wiping her watering eyes.

"Wow," said Sonic. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "I… I must apologize for that. I could not control… I was just so… _hungry,_" she explained apologetically. She looked up at him with a shy half-smile. "And it was _good_. Never have I tasted so much in such a small amount. I doubt that even the king himself was served such wonderful food."

"Don't worry about it," laughed Amy. "You just scared us a bit."

"I guess after six thousand years, I'd be pretty hungry, too," added Sonic. "But if you think this stuff is good, wait 'till you see what else we've got to offer!"

She looked down with embarrassment. "I thank you much for your kindness, but I think it should wait until tomorrow, in case I… lose control again. I am truly sorry for that," she apologized with a bow of her head.

"It's fine, really," said Sonic. "We'll just remember to stand clear whenever you're near a ham and swiss sandwich."

She blinked in surprise, then looked away with a hurt expression. Amy immediately tried to console her when she noticed her sudden mood change. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" she asked. She reached for the wolf's shoulder, but she pulled away. Amy turned to glare at Sonic. "Look what you did! You'd better apologize to her!" she snapped at him.

"What? What did I do?" he asked in bewilderment.

"You hurt her feelings! Say you're sorry!"

"All right, I'm sorry! For whatever it was."

"No, stop, please," interrupted Lupa. "I-it was nothing. I must have misunderstood. I …thought you said I was… a _si'reetia_."

"A what?" asked Amy.

"A _si'reetia_ is a madman that lives in the desert, and is said to have terrible, evil powers," she explained quietly.

"What? When?" asked Sonic. "All I said was it was okay if you eat fast."

"Wait a minute. A crazy desert guy… You mean like a sand witch?" inquired Amy. The hurt look returned to Lupa's dark eyes for a moment before she nodded slowly. Amy gasped. "No, no, no! A sandwich is just two pieces of bread with stuff in between them. You just ate one! That's just what it's called. It doesn't mean anything!"

"Oh," said Lupa. "But why would something so wonderful be named something so horrible?"

"I dunno," answered Sonic. "That's just what they called it. I didn't mean anything by it."

Lupa nodded and then looked out at the people walking by. "I think your friend Tails is returning," she said.

The two hedgehogs followed her gaze, but couldn't see him in the large crowd. Finally they found him, a splash of yellow among the grays and browns around him, looking around for his friends as he slowly made his way down the hallway.

"There he is. Hey, Tails!" called Sonic as he got up and waved at him. He saw the motion and waved back cheerfully as he headed toward them.

"You saw him all the way down there?" Amy asked Lupa.

"No," she replied quietly. "I heard him."

"What? That's impossible. How could you possibly hear him over all this noise?"

"I listened for him."

Amy just stared at her until Sonic returned with Tails. "Hi, guys! Thanks for waiting," the fox greeted them happily. "Oh! You got me a sandwich! Thanks, you guys!"

Sonic smiled at Lupa. "See? That's what it's called."

Lupa nodded. Tails looked at them curiously. "Huh?"

"Don't worry about it," said Amy. "Everything's fine."

After they all finished, they headed out for the city. They walked until they reached the main square which was crowded with people and cars going off in different directions. Lupa stared open-mouthed at everything around them from the bright flashing lights of the neon signs to the solid concrete beneath their feet.

"So, what do you think?" Sonic asked Lupa with an amused smirk.

"…Incredible. I cannot believe that this is real, and yet I am seeing it," she answered in awe. "All these people, and the lights, and the noise… it is all so much. I have missed so much, it seems like this is a different world."

He laughed. "You haven't seen anything yet. Where should we go now?" he asked, turning to his friends.

"Did you not have to find someone and give him something?" questioned Lupa.

"Oh, yeah! I forgot about that," said Sonic. "You still have it, right Tails?"

"Uh-huh," he replied and pulled out the small parcel wrapped in brown paper out of his glove. "It says it's for a Randy Peterson. Didn't that Jackson guy say he worked at a hotel?"

"Not _a_ hotel, the Glamoria!" corrected Amy. "It's only one of the fanciest hotels in the world! It's got this spectacular view of the ocean and amazing service. Movie stars and celebrities stay there when they're in town."

"Sounds like my kind of place," said Sonic.

Amy sighed dreamily. "I've always wanted to see it."

"I guess you're gonna get your chance tonight! Anyone know how to get there?"

They all stared blankly at each other before asking around for directions. After a few wrong turns and a brief argument over whether or not they were lost, they finally stood before the impressive doors of the Glamoria Hotel.

"See? I told you. It was left, the _second_ right and then another left," Sonic told Amy.

"Fine. You were right," said Amy. "At least we finally found it. Look at it! Let's go in!" She dashed on ahead in excited anticipation.

"Hey! Wait up!" Sonic called and began following her. Tails gave Lupa an encouraging smile and they slowly caught up to the others.

The room they walked into was even more extravagant than the outside. Rows of marble pillars that supported the ceiling were covered with carvings that depicted ancient battles and famous historic heroes. The walls gleamed with gold, and paintings of royalty from all over the world were displayed every few feet. Even the ceiling looked magnificent with a mosaic of mirrors reflecting the people walking around on a granite floor studded with gleaming gemstones.

"Wow. Nice place," said Sonic approvingly.

"Nice? It's gorgeous!" exclaimed Amy. "This is where Goldie Lotsadoh stayed during the All-Star Showdown last year, and everyone knows what a diva she is." She twirled around with her arms outstretched. "Every inch of this place is like a work of art. I can't believe we're actually here." She looked up at the ceiling and suddenly stopped with a gasp of horror. "Oh, no!" she cried out.

Sonic started. "What? What's wrong?" he asked, looking around warily.

"What was I thinking? How could I come to place like this dressed like _this_?" She looked down at her red-dress and matching knee high boots that were grass stained and coated with mud from her trek though the jungle earlier that day. "I look like a slob! What in the world was I thinking?"

"Uhh… you look all right to me, Amy," offered Sonic in an attempt to calm her.

"You look fine to me, too, but unfortunately it isn't up to us."

They all turned to the source of the new voice. A purple mouse dressed in a sharp, blue uniform was watching them with a friendly smile on her face.

She giggled in embarrassment when they looked at her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I'm the doorman here and I tend to catch conversations I'm not supposed to. Especially with these things," she explained as she wiggled her large, round ears at them, nearly dislodging her hat in the process.

She held up a hand to steady it. "Oops. As I was saying, you look fine, but the snobs that visit here probably aren't gonna agree. Fortunately, they're too busy staring down their noses to notice anyone beyond them. If they do notice you, it's because you stand out, and if they say something, it's 'cause their jealous," she told Amy with a playful grin.

"Really?" asked Amy uncertainly.

The mouse nodded. "Oh, yeah. Take it from someone who sees everyone coming in and out of the hotel. Just don't tell anyone I said that," she added in a stage whisper.

"Don't worry. Your secret's safe with us," said Sonic.

"Cool. Thanks. So, what can I do for you tonight?" she asked them.

"We're looking for a Randy Peterson," said Tails. "We were told he worked here. Do you know him? We've got something for him."

"Uhh… Well, I can't take him to him personally, but if you talk to the guy at the reception desk, he can," she told them. "Just don't take his attitude seriously. He's really good at what he does."

"Sure," said Sonic. "Thanks, door-mouse."

She blinked, then smiled broadly. "Oh, wow! You're the first to notice that! Not even I got that! Hee-hee! Door-mouse, heh-heh-heh. That's good."

They left the giggling mouse at the door as they moved toward the reception desk at the far end of the large room. Amy "oohed" and "awwed" at every picture and pillar they passed, Lupa stared around in silent awe at everything else, and Sonic and Tails followed behind in good-natured amusement. Richly dressed people stared down their noses at them or ignored them as they walked by.

As they approached the desk, a rusty colored tiger in a similar blue uniform bent over it raised his eyes and quickly looked them over. Then he frowned disapprovingly and returned to his work.

Tails stepped up to him and smiled politely. "Excuse me, we're-"

"I'm sorry, we don't give out handouts here," he interrupted without looking up. "Try the diner a couple of blocks down the street from here. I hear their leftovers are almost edible."

They all flinched at his blunt assessment. Amy recovered first and leaned forward on the desk hotly. "_Excuse_ me! You can't talk to us like that! We could be paying customers, you know!"

He looked her up and down, and then met her gaze with a raised eyebrow. "In that get-up? Oh, goody, eccentrics. I just love eccentrics," he droned sarcastically. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Uhh… no," she admitted.

"I had a feeling you'd say that."

"We're not staying here, anyway," started Sonic.

"I should hope not."

"Look. We're looking for someone named Randy Peterson," Sonic explained with an annoyed frown. "We have something for him. Can you take us to him?"

His eyebrow went even higher this time. "Ohhh, you want to see Mr. Peterson, do you?" he asked patronizingly. "Of course. How stupid of me. And who, exactly, are you?"

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Right. And I'm Tony the Tiger."

Sonic smiled cruelly. "That's grrreat, Tony. Now are you gonna take us to him or not?"

The tiger's ears twitched in annoyance and he stared back at him for a few seconds before he sighed and walked around to their side of the desk. "Yeah, sure, I'll let him deal with you. This way."

He led them down to a door off to one side labeled EMPLOYESS ONLY, which opened up to a much less elaborate hall lined with doors. They followed him down to a door near the end of the hall that had MANAGER printed on it in large, black letters.

When the group saw it, they all exchanged confused looks. "He's the manager?" wondered Tails.

"Wow," said Sonic. "When he said he worked here, he wasn't kidding."

Tony knocked on the door and a man opened it and stepped out. "Yes?" he asked politely.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Mr. Peterson," the receptionist said insincerely. "These guys say they have something for you. Since I assume it isn't money, I'm letting you handle them."

"Oh. Okay," said Mr. Peterson as he opened the door wider. "If you just step into my office, I can address any concerns you might have."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. While you're doing that, I'll be out front with the people who actually belong here. Later," he said and walked back towards the lobby.

"See ya around, Tony," Sonic called after him.

He bristled slightly and his tail lashed angrily, but he kept walking.

Mr. Peterson gave him a questioning look. "Tony? That's not his name."

"That's the one he gave us," replied Sonic. "Tony the Tiger. Isn't it grrreat?"

Amy elbowed him in the ribs. "Behave!" she hissed at him.

The manager chuckled. "No, no. Don't worry about it. It's all he deserves with that attitude of his. So, you had something for me?"

Tails nodded and handed him the package. "It's from a scientist named… Jackson, I think? He said he knew you."

"Jackson?" He took the parcel and opened it expectantly. He grinned widely as he held up a small, glass jar with a collection of ants crawling all over the inside of it. "Good ol' Stevie! I didn't think he'd actually do it!" he exclaimed happily.

Amy stepped back reflexively. "Uuugh! It's full of bugs! Look at the size of them!" she cried in disgust.

"I know," said the manager. "Aren't they wonderful?" He looked down and saw Tails wiping his hands on his chest repulsively. "I guess not. So, you know Steve, eh? How's he doing? I haven't seen him in a while."

"Er, all right, I guess," said Sonic. What else was he supposed to say? "So, what's with the bugs?"

"I collect them," he explained simply, looking down at the insects. "Especially ants. They're amazing little creatures that really show the value of teamwork. Hey! Is that a queen?" he suddenly asked, staring intently at the jar. "It is! Yes! I won! Thank you, Steve!" he cheered excitedly.

"Huh?"

Mr. Peterson danced into his office giddily. "I made a bet with a friend of mine that I could get a whole colony of these guys before the month was out, and this completes it! Come in and see them!"

They followed him in and watched him empty the jar into a glass tank half filled with dirt. "Now that they have a queen, they can set up their own colony." He turned to his guests with a friendly smile. "By the way, call me Randy. Who might you guys be?"

Sonic introduced himself first and Randy looked back at him in surprise. "You mean _the_ Sonic the Hedgehog?"

"The one and only!" he replied with a grin. He indicated Tails next. "This is my best friend, Tails."

"Hi," he greeted politely.

"And I'm his girlfriend, Amy Rose," Amy introduced herself, throwing her arms around Sonic enthusiastically. She grinned at Randy. "Surely you know me?"

Sonic nearly fell over from her sudden sign of affection, and then sighed in reluctant resignation. "I'm sure he does, Amy," he assured her. He gently tried to extract himself from her iron grip when he noticed Lupa standing quietly off to the side. "And that's our other friend, Lupa," he said to Randy.

She looked up at him shyly and nodded slightly in greeting.

"Oh. I see. So, are you guys just visiting?" he asked curiously.

"I guess so," answered Tails. "We're sort of on vacation."

"Oh. So where are you staying?"

The three friends exchanged a look. "Uhh… nowhere, I guess," admitted Sonic as he gave up trying to lose Amy. "We never really thought about it."

"You went on vacation without thinking about where you were gonna stay?" Randy asked in surprise. "Wow. I haven't even done that one. What a coincidence running into me then, eh?"

"What do you mean?" asked Tails.

"Well, you need a place to stay, and I manage a hotel," he answered simply. "This is the slow season, so there are a lot of rooms available. How would you like to stay here?"

Three jaws dropped simultaneously. "Wh-wha… _here_?" Amy stammered in shock. "We can't afford a place like this! You'd have to be loaded just to tip the busboy!"

"Ah, but you forget several things," said Randy as he held up a corrective finger. "Your blue boyfriend just happens to be a, quote, 'world renowned hero,' which technically labels you as famous."

"Not… really," said Sonic. "Besides, we're… financially… lacking. There's no way we could pay for a place like this."

"You don't have to. I just won a bet, remember? He can pay for it."

"But you don't have to do that!" insisted Tails.

"No, but it's good publicity. If people see that you guys stayed here, it'd be great for us. You guys are really popular, and people will pay good money to see you guys."

"Whoa, hold on a second," interrupted Sonic. "We're not celebrities, or anything. I don't know about you guys, but I'm not gonna be reduced to signing autographs. Free room and board or not."

"Of course not. I wouldn't do that to you. But maybe if we got a few pictures of you around the hotel, we'd call that enough," suggested Randy.

"Hmm. I dunno."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Amy demanded, looking him straight in the eyes. "He's offering us a free room at the Glamoria! How can you even consider turning it down?"

"Well, I mean… I guess if it's only a couple…" he reluctantly agreed.

"Great!" exclaimed Randy. "We'll take care of it in the morning. Get it over with, you know? Now you go back out there and talk to Tony. He'll set you up with a room and we'll be square."

"Sorry, but did you not just say that was not his name?" inquired Lupa.

"Oh, it isn't, but it's so much fun to bug him. And, speaking of bugs, it's time to feed these little guys. Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy your stay."

They left the manager to his bugs and headed back towards the lobby. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!" squealed Amy. She squeezed Sonic even harder in her excitement. "We're actually staying at the Glamoria! Somebody pinch me!"

With his rib cage threatening to give way, Sonic decided to risk her temper and complied with her request. She jumped back from the sharp pain and glared at the grinning hedgehog as she rubbed her stinging arm. "Anytime you need another favor, just ask," he said mischievously.

"Thanks for nothing," she muttered back.

"It was really generous of him to do that for us," said Tails in an attempt to change the subject.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. It saves us a lot of trouble. I just hope the pictures don't take very long. Publicity's for the birds."

Amy laughed. "I'm sure you'll be fine, Mr. Hero."

"Hey, what's the matter, Lupa?" Tails suddenly asked.

The others turned around to find her trailing behind them with a downcast expression. She looked up at them and tried a reassuring smile. "Nothing is wrong. I was merely wondering where I should go now," she told them.

"Go?" echoed Amy. "You're coming with us, aren't you?"

"Here? I do not belong here. Why would you let someone like me stay with you in this magnificent palace?"

"Because you're our friend," answered Sonic. "And whatever you were back then is ancient history now. It's not important."

"So you are saying that my life before now is unimportant?" she asked steadily. "That I should act as if my past never happened?"

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm not saying that it didn't happen, I'm saying it did. But that's not what's really important. It's what you do now using what you've learned from the past that makes you who you are."

She stared at him thoughtfully for several seconds. "You are wise, Sonic," she finally said.

He grinned. "Nah. I just get around a lot."

She made a quiet, thoughtful sound, but said nothing else.

They walked into the lobby and stepped up to the reception desk, where Tony sat, writing in a folder. Sonic rested his arm casually on the counter and smiled smugly at him. "Say, Tony-"

"Get back, you hobo," he interrupted without looking up. "It's hard enough to keep a clean workplace without your dirty elbows messing it up."

He removed his arm. "We just had a talk with Randy, you know. And he-"

"Randy?" he interrupted again, looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. "You guys really are buddy-buddy, aren't you? One little meeting and it's first names and free rooms. You'd think it was 'Be Kind to Your Underprivileged Brother Day'."

"You know about that?" asked Lupa. "But how? We are only coming from him now."

He looked at her. "Umm, a telephone?" he told her as if it were obvious. "You know, the thing that people have been using to talk to each other for the last century?"

"Oh," she whispered. "Sorry."

"Leave her alone!" Amy defended her. "Aren't you supposed to be getting us set up with a room?"

He shrugged and tossed a key to her. "Room 436. I hope it's sufficient for you. It'd better be, 'cause I'm not gonna listen to you freeloaders complain."

"Thanks," said Sonic as they headed for the elevator. "And you might want to change your opinion about us. We're guests here now."

"Oh, but nothing has changed. You're still hobos. You're just not homeless at the moment," he retorted as he returned to his work.

Tails pressed the button that summoned the elevator as Amy fumed. "I can't believe that guy! What a total jerk! Calling us hobos like that. Who does he think he is?" she muttered indignantly. "

"Ah, just ignore him," said Sonic. "You're not gonna let him ruin your stay, are you?"

"…No, I guess not."

The elevator arrived with a _ding_ and the doors automatically opened before them, drawing a gasp out of Lupa. "Wh-what? H-how?" she stammered as she took a cautious step back.

"It's okay, Lupa!" Amy tried to reassure her. "It's supposed to do that!"

"A-are you sure?"

"Positive. It's fine, really."

They entered the enclosed space and waited as they slowly ascended to the fourth floor. Lupa held onto the wall for dear life the entire time and as soon as the doors opened, flung herself into the hallway beyond. She glanced up and down the corridors in confusion while the others stepped out after her.

"Maybe we'd better take the stairs next time," offered Sonic.

"Th-the room… it changed," she said with a questioning look at them.

"No it didn't. We just went up a few floors," Tails corrected her.

"…Oh. Of course."

They headed down one of the halls and stopped in front of room 436. Amy could barely contain her excitement. "I still can't believe we're about to enter a room at the Glamoria!"

"Yeah, I know," replied Sonic. "But considering how fond Tony is of us, I wouldn't get my hopes too high about it. It's probably one of the cheapest ones they've got, since we're staying for free."

They unlocked the door and stared in frozen shock at the sight that met them. There was a short hallway that opened up into a large room containing three leather sofas, two of which faced a balcony that looked out over a fantastic view of the ocean. The room itself had sunset themed wallpaper and wall-to-wall carpeting with different shades of orange, red and yellow flowing through it. It branched off to a kitchen, a dining room and another hallway that led off to three other rooms, and an elaborate chandelier hung in the middle of the ceiling.

Sonic finally broke the silence with a small laugh. "I guess it'll do."

"He got us a suite," breathed Amy. Then she grabbed Sonic in an overly-excited motion. "He actually got us a suite!" she squealed ecstatically.

"Air!" he gasped against her iron grip.

She released him and ran inside, eager to see what the Glamoria had to offer. Sonic and Tails followed behind and dispersed themselves throughout the suite.

"Oh wow! Look at this view! It's gorgeous out here!"

"All right! A full stocked fridge!"

"Leather furnishings? They really didn't spare any expense here!"

Amy came back inside from the balcony and noticed Lupa still standing in the hall. She was staring at her feet humbly, but looked up when Amy started to come over.

"Hey, what's the matter? Come on in."

Lupa blinked and then shook her head with a step backwards. "N-no. I cannot go in there. I… I do not belong here."

"Sure you do. This room is for all of us." She walked out to her and gently took her hand. "Come on. It'll be fine."

She led the hesitant wolf into the main room and let her go. "There you go! What do you think?"

Lupa let her eyes slowly roam over everything, seeming to take in every detail. "Not even the king's palace…" she whispered softly, then looked back at Amy. "Who are you?" she asked in an incredulous whisper. "You take me from the men on the island, you fly here in a great ship like a bird, you are given the most wonderful things to eat, you live in this amazing city of lights and noise, people _know_ you and let you do all these things _and _give you this palace to stay in as well. Who _are_ you?"

Not knowing how to answer that, Amy looked over at Tails, who stood nearby. "Well," he started slowly, "a lot of things have changed over the past six thousand years. The things you find amazing are things we see every day. For us, it's nothing new."

She nodded. "Yes. This I understand. But what I meant was…" she trailed off, selecting her words. "People… _see_ you. They respect you, I can see it the way they talk and look at you. You are not just ordinary people. They allowed you to… land, yes? They allowed you to land on that special field. The ant man knew who you were and paid for your stay here. Even the Tony Tiger gives you this magnificent chamber to live in that kings would not even dream of. And yet you still insist on helping me, though I can give you nothing in return. It… I cannot understand it. Please, _who are you_?" she asked again.

"It isn't who we are, but what we do," answered Sonic from behind her. He was leaning against the doorway to the kitchen holding an opened bag of chips. "We help out those in trouble, and do what we can to make the world a better place. And I guess people take notice, 'cause there aren't too many people willing to do that. But I figure that if I'm in the area and there's something I can do, then how can I not lend a hand?" He popped a chip into his mouth and held out the bag to her. "Want one?"

She stared at him. "Where did you learn to think like that?" she asked in disbelief.

He shrugged. "I just do what I think is right. Is that so strange?"

She looked away thoughtfully, her braid hiding her eyes. "No," she answered. "I suppose not."

"Saving the world every now and again doesn't hurt, either," added Amy teasingly.

"Details," he said with a dismissive shrug. "C'mon guys. Let's check out the rest of this place."

They resumed their exploration of the suite, opening every cabinet and drawer they could find. They finally made their way down the hall and began debating over who would get which of the two bedrooms.

Suddenly, Tails said, "Hey guys. Do you hear that?"

"Huh?" said Sonic as he and Amy stopped to listen. There was a faint, high pitched sound floating in from the main room that carried a tune like a song on the wind.

"It sounds like someone's singing," said Amy.

They followed the sound onto the balcony and found Lupa singing softly but clearly to the almost full moon high above them. It was a strange melody sung in an ancient language that flowed out over the ocean. There was a look of intense concentration on her face as the song played out, and she sang slower and softer as it came to an end, but with all the clarity of a flute. The last, low note finally played out and seemed to soften the noise of the city with its sweet, quiet sound.

She sighed and hung her head when she had finished. "I apologize," she said without turning around. "I did not mean to disturb you."

"What? No, you didn't bother us," Sonic assured her.

"That was really nice," added Amy. "What brought that on?"

"My family believed that the only way to ensure a safe trip into the afterlife was to have their loved ones sing them there with a special song," she told them. "Since there was no one to do it then, I felt I should do it for them now."

They looked at each other in silence for a few seconds. "I'm sure they'd appreciate it," Tails finally said.

She snorted and her tail lashed angrily. "Yes. I am most certain they would. If it is indeed true," she snapped bitterly.

They flinched at her sudden change in attitude. "What do you mean?" asked Sonic.

"If they are already dead, then there is nothing else anyone can do. They have already left this world. Nothing I can do will change that. And if one's fate in the afterlife depends on a song, then it must not be as strong a force as we think."

"Then why did you do it?" asked Amy.

She slumped in defeat. "Because if there was something I could do for them, anything, I would do it. It was my fault that they are dead now, and I know no other way to make it up to them."

Sonic stepped up beside her. "I think they've forgiven you."

She looked up at the sky. "I hope you are right."

The four of them stayed out on the balcony for some time, the ocean breeze and the silver moonlight making the night even more pleasant. Finally, Lupa sighed and hook her head. "Even the moon and stars are different," she said and then turned to the others. "So, what now?"

"Well, it is getting kinda late," offered Amy.

Tails yawned. "Yeah. I think we should call it a night."

Sonic grinned and grabbed his best friend. "Okay! We get the red room!" he announced and dashed back inside.

"What? Hey!" cried Amy and tried to pursue them, but she was much too slow and the two boys locked her out of the room long before she got there. "Hey! Get back here!" she yelled as she ran after them. She pounded on the door in a vain effort to enter. After a few seconds she gave up and stormed back into the main room.

Lupa was looking down at one of the sofas with a curious expression. She looked up as Amy approached. "I will not cause you more trouble. I will rest here."

"Huh? No, that's okay. I'm not that upset," Amy assured her. Then she shot a glare back down the hall. "Not at you anyway."

But Lupa just shook her head. "No. you have done so much already. This will be more than enough for me," she said gently.

"Are you sure? It's no trouble."

"Yes. I cannot…" She hesitated. "I cannot impose on you further. Please. I will be happy here."

"Okay. If you say so," Amy reluctantly agreed.

The wolf bowed low. "Thank you all so much for everything. I wish you a pleasant night with nothing to disturb you."

Amy nodded. "Thanks. You, too. Good night."

She entered into her room and found a nightgown in one of the drawers. The simple white gown didn't seem to fit on with the glamorous layout of the suite, but it suited her fine and it was free, so why complain? Just as she had slipped into it, there was a soft knock on her door. Opening it, she found Sonic frowning at her with Tails looking at her questioningly.

"Why'd you leave her out there?" Sonic asked softly, nodding towards the still, orange figure curled up on the sofa.

"I didn't leave her there," she hissed back just as quietly. "She said she wanted to stay there."

He blinked in surprise and they all watched her for a few seconds. "Why'd she say that?" he finally asked. "It wouldn't have been a problem."

"She made it sound like I was doing her a favor," explained Amy.

"I guess she didn't want to feel like she owed us anything else," said Tails.

"Or maybe she just wanted some time alone," offered Amy. "I mean, she's really shy. She almost seemed scared of us most of the time."

"Yeah," agreed Tails. "I wonder why. Were we too upfront?"

"I don't think so," said Sonic. "I think it has something to do with her past. I got a look at her arms outside. They're covered in scars."

Amy gasped softly in shock. "What?"

"I didn't see any scars," said Tails.

"They're really faint, but they're there," replied Sonic. "Lots of them. She's scared and hurt, too, you can see it. I think she might've been hit a lot, which would explain why she doesn't like people near her."

"That's horrible," breathed Amy. "Who'd want to hit her?"

Sonic's eyes came together in an angry frown. "I don't know. Maybe she was a slave and she had a cruel master. But how anyone could do that to her is beyond me."

"Maybe she was a soldier," suggested Tails. "Those scars could be battle wounds."

Sonic nodded. "Maybe. She's definitely been trained to fight, so that would make sense."

"She's got really good senses, too," added Amy. "She could see the city long before we could. And at the airport, she said she heard Tails coming before we could even see him."

"But that's impossible," argued Tails. "How could she hear anything over all that noise?"

"I dunno," said Sonic. "But she knew you were there."

They paused in their hushed conversation thoughtfully. Finally Amy asked Sonic, "Can you still feel her energy?"

"Yeah. It's not as strong as before, but it's there. I wonder what it means."

"Maybe we'll find out in the morning," said Tails. "It's getting kinda late."

Amy yawned. "Yeah. Good night, guys."

"Night," said Sonic. He watched her disappear into her room, then went into his own and found a spare blanket in the closet.

Tails nodded at him. "Good idea. She needs someone to be nice to her."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I know."

He carried the blanket over to the girl on the couch. She was curled up into a ball with her tail tightly wrapped around herself. Her thin arms were pulled tightly to her slowly rising and falling chest, and her face was hidden behind the braid that was draped across it.

The scars on her arms were illuminated in the moonlight from the large window. They travelled all the way up to her neck and there was even one that ran up her cheek and up to her ear.

_Who could have done this?_ he wondered silently. He knew that they weren't all battle scars. No one who could fight the way she had would undertake that many injuries. And her constant fear of everything and everyone was understandable, but to the extent that she showed? Not so much. The way she recoiled from simple gestures, the way she had devoured her sandwich and apologized profusely afterwards, the way she avoided and inquiry about her past – it all pointed to a life of pain and abuse that had left her wounded and afraid.

He spread the blanket over the still form, carefully avoiding contact with her. "Hope that helps," he whispered softly. "I don't know what you've been through, but I know it's over. You don't have to be afraid anymore." He started to head back towards his room. "I hope tomorrow's a better day than the ones you woke up to all those years ago."

As soon as he closed the door behind him, the wolf opened her eyes, sat up and stared down the hall for a few seconds. Then she looked down at the blanket wrapped around her shoulders and hugged it close to her. "I hope so, too," she murmured to herself. With one last glance out the window, she lay back down and, curling up again, began drifting off to sleep.

* * *

With a yawn, Tails stretched into wakefulness and glanced over at the small digital clock on the table next to his bed. "Wow, it's late," he mumbled. "Must've really slept-!" He abruptly stopped and rechecked the clock. Then he jumped up and ran over the other bed in the room where Sonic was sprawled, sawing logs. "Wake up, Sonic! We're late for the pictures!" he called to him, shaking him awake.

"Mmm… huh?" he moaned sleepily, managing to open an eye. "Pictures?"

"Yeah, you know, the ones you promised to stand for?" Tails reminded him. "C'mon. We're late."

He reclosed his eye and stubbornly grunted, "Sleeping. Try 'gain tomorrow."

Tails sighed. "All right. You asked for it." He went over to the curtains and drew them aside, letting the bright daylight into the dark room.

"Aaaagh… umph!" Sonic yelled as he drew up his arms to shield his eyes from the light and as a result ended up falling onto the hard ground. "Owww… Not fair! That was uncalled for!" he complained as he sat up and blinked open his eyes.

"You're lucky I didn't turn the lights on," replied Tails. "Now come on! It's almost eleven."

He rubbed an eye and frowned. "Issat all? Heck, that isn't so late."

"Well considering how they wanted us this morning and its almost noon now, it is."

He sighed and began heading for the door. "All right. We wouldn't want to keep them waiting, now, would we?"

He opened the door and found Lupa waiting on the other side with an anxious expression. "A wonderful morning to you both," she greeted with a bow. "My humblest apologies for disturbing you, but there is something most troubling you must see. Please come, this way!"

She directed them into the kitchen and pointed at the refrigerator. "What's wrong with the fridge?" wondered Sonic.

"I am unsure. See, it is warm and nice out here, but in here," here she paused to cautiously open the door, "it is cold, like the mountain winds. What does it mean?"

Tails let out a relieved laugh. "It means it's working. It keeps the food cold and fresh longer," he explained.

"Yeah, so if you need a cold drink, it's right there for you," added Sonic as he reached for a carton of milk.

"Oh," said Lupa. "Sorry."

"It's fine. I guess it would be kinda weird if it was your first time seeing one," said Tails.

"What sort of magic is this?" she asked hesitantly.

"Magic? It's not magic, it's the process of refrigeration by properly harnessing the power of electricity."

"Re-frij-er-nay-shun… and… ele-tristy?"

"Yeah. See, how it works is…" he began to explain.

And while Tails explained the complex mechanics of a refrigerator, Sonic drank his milk.

"…Oh," said Lupa when he had finished.

"By the way, where's Amy?" asked Sonic.

"In that room down there," she answered, pointing down to the door at the far end of the hall. "She said she had to 'get cleaned up.' She is returning now."

Just as she finished speaking, Amy emerged from the bathroom with a luxurious sigh. She was dressed in her usual attire, her red boots and dress coinciding with her red headband, al of which were still slightly damp from a recent washing. She headed into the kitchen where everyone had gathered and greeted them with a cheerful, "Good morning!"

"Hi," returned Tails. "Now that we're all up, we can head down for the pictures."

She gasped as she remembered them. "I forgot all about those! What time is it?" she cried as she glanced frantically around the room for a clock.

"About eleven."

"What? We're so late! C'mon, you!"

"Hey! What're you – aagh!" yelped Sonic as Amy grabbed him and pulled him out the door. Lupa gave Tails a questioning look which he shrugged at and then the two followed them in a much calmer manner.

They took the stairs down to the lobby, partly because of Lupa and partly because Amy thought it was faster. A bunch of people, most of which were human, were wandering around or chatting around a long refreshment table that had been set up near one of the walls. Cameras, lights and other expensive looking equipment stood idle in a corner and a few of the other guests, dressed in much more fashionable clothing than the casually dressed photographers, stood off to the sides, pretending not to show curiosity for the commotion.

"There they are!" someone shouted as the group entered the room and everyone turned to greet them. They were immediately surrounded by the eager crowd as they greeted them with salutations and excited questions regarding different aspects of their lives. Lupa was shoved aside, and even Amy was mostly ignored as Tails and Sonic were nearly crushed in the hectic advance of the photographers and reporters.

"All right, all right, break it up!" a voice called over the excited chatter, and the crowd slowly and reluctantly calmed down and backed off. "That's right. You're gonna need them in one piece still," the voice continued.

The voice belonged to Randy, who approached after the crowd had diminished. He had a dark suit on and his blond hair was slicked back. "Sorry about that. They've been waiting for over an hour for you guys, and they're kinda eager to begin," he apologized with a chuckle.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We slept in," explained Sonic.

Tails rubbed his sore cheeks which more than one reporter had firmly pinched in their advance. "We can start now, if you want," he offered.

The photographers anonymously agreed to this, and soon had their three subjects posing for shots all over the hotel, leaving Lupa to watch the cameras in fascination.

They focused most of their attention on Sonic, allowing Amy and Tails a few breaks to enjoy brunch on the refreshment stand. They had pictures taken in front of the reception desk with Tony giving them smug smiles as they disdainfully posed for the photographers. Then they moved to various other locations around the building, both inside and out. Sonic quickly tired of the nonstop activity and tried to sneak over to his friends a few times, but was quickly grabbed by another photographer and carried off to another spot.

After a group photo outside a few hours later, Tails and Amy were dismissed and given permission to leave. They all met together for a brief discussion about how they were going to spend the remainder of the day.

"You're not gonna leave me here?" cried Sonic.

"Well, there's nothing for us to do here," argued Amy. "Besides, if we leave now, we can show Lupa the mall near here."

"What mall?"

"The one a few blocks down from here," answered the door-mouse who was standing behind them. "It's an awesome place, and it's got, like, everything there. You should totally check it out, it's, like, an unofficial landmark. So worth it."

"Yeah, and I've gotta go fix up the Tornado," said Tails. "I need to replace the battery they gave me and check it over for damage."

"And we can meet for lunch in a couple of hours at the mall," suggested Amy. "What do you think?"

"Sounds great!" said the door-mouse enthusiastically. Then she looked at the faces staring back at her and blinked. "Oh, yeah. Never mind. Sorry."

Sonic looked back to Amy with an annoyed expression. "You're leaving me behind with these guys all by myself? I thought you guys were my friends. What happened to sticking together to the end?"

Just then, Randy came up from behind and tapped him on the shoulder. "They're almost ready for the next shot. It's a really cool one by the fountain out back. I think you'll like this one," he said encouragingly.

Sonic cringed. "Don't you have enough already?" he asked pleadingly.

"Just a few more. You promised."

"Well, I guess…"

Great! Come on, then!" Randy grabbed the hedgehog's wrist and began pulling him exuberantly towards the back. "It's right out here!"

"See ya later! Have fun!" Amy called to him as he was dragged away.

"But… But… Guys!" he cried out to them. "Don't leave me here!"

Amy laughed and led the others out toward the street. "C'mon, guys! We're running out of daylight!"

Lupa followed behind with a concerned glance back at the hotel. "Will he be all right? He did not want to go with them at all."

"Oh, he'll be fine," Amy assured her. "They're just gonna take a few more pictures of him."

"Oh. If you are certain, then," she said uncertainly.

"This is where we split up," said Tails as they reached the sidewalk. "We'll meet up in two hours, okay? See ya then!" With a spin of his tails, he lifted into the air and flew off in the direction of the airport.

Amy waved up ay him. "See ya!"

Lupa stared at his diminishing figure in wonder. "He… he can fly?" she finally wondered aloud.

"Yup. We call him Tails for a reason."

"Oh. I see. So, where do we go now?"

"This way! Come on!"

She led Lupa through the city, answering the endless stream of questions that flowed from the inquisitive wolf. She wanted to know everything about everything, from the mechanics of traffic lights to the reason for cars. They finally found the mall; a large, long building with people wandering here and there throughout the hallways that made it up.

"There are so many people. Where do they all come from?" wondered Lupa.

"A lot of them live here in the city," Amy tried to explain. "But some of them are tourists, like us, who are here on vacation."

"Oh. And what do they do here?"

"Lots of things. Shopping, eating, hanging out. Stuff like that."

"Hanging… out…?"

"Yeah, just spending time with your friends, not really doing anything."

"Oh."

They entered the mall and entered every store, browsing the different merchandise in each. They admired the necklaces and rings in a jewelry store, they skimmed the newest fashions at a few clothing stores and Amy had to practically drag Lupa away from the display of televisions at an electronic entertainment store.

Amy bought a few new outfits for herself and finally persuaded Lupa to let her buy her a pretty, white dress with short sleeves and a skirt that just reached down to her knees. It had a simple floral pattern on the sleeves and the neck came down around her collarbone. She kept her old sandals on, though, which almost threw off the outfit, but at the same time suited her.

Two hours passed quickly and hunger soon brought the girls into the food court. Amy bought herself a burger and fries, as well as a chili dog combo for Sonic. Lupa, however, insisted that she wasn't hungry. Tails found them and helped them look for a seat. They finally found a round table for four with a long, white tablecloth with blue polka dots and began chatting amiably.

"I guess you've already done a bit of shopping," said Tails, noticing Amy's bags.

"Yup," confirmed Amy. "I even managed to get something for Lupa. I thought that that outfit would look nicer than that dirty, old dress did. She wouldn't let me get her anything else."

She smiled shyly. "I do not need anything else. You have already been more than generous to me."

"So, do you like it here?" asked Tails.

She nodded. "Yes. It is a most wondrous place. So many people are here, as well."

"Yeah, it is pretty busy today," agreed Amy.

"And there are so many things to see and hear! Everywhere there is noise." She looked at Tails with a puzzled expression. "I saw persons speaking into their hands. Like this, see?" She put her hand to the side of her head. "It was most strange. It was as if they were speaking to someone, and yet they were not. What does it mean?"

"They were probably talking on their cell phones," explained Tails. "They're devices that allow someone to talk to another person, no matter where they are in the world."

"Oh. Is that also the work of ele-tristy and ref… re-frij…?"

Tails laughed. "Something like that. You see, its main components-"

"I don't think you have to go that far," said Amy hastily. "It works, let's leave it at that."

"Oh," said Lupa. "Then perhaps you can explain the pounding sounds that are in the air?"

Tails was puzzled. "Pounding sounds?"

"I think she means the music on the radio," guessed Amy.

Lupa frowned in confusion. "_That_ is music? Things truly have changed."

Tails and Amy couldn't help laughing at her blunt assessment. "You can say that again," agreed Amy.

"So, where's Sonic?" asked Tails. "Still at the hotel?"

Amy nodded. "I think so. I thought he'd be done by now. I got him something, but it'll get cold if he doesn't show up soon."

"I'm sure he will. Anyway, I'm gonna go get something, too, okay?" he said and headed off to one of the fast food joints in the area.

Amy sighed and stared at the bag with Sonic's meal in it. Lupa noticed and leaned forward tentatively. "…Amy? Is something wrong?" she asked her.

"Huh? No, not really," she answered. Then she sighed again and looked down. "It's just that I keep trying ways to get Sonic to like me, and every time something goes wrong and ends up blowing up in my face. I think he hates me."

"He seems to like you enough," offered Lupa. "Or… did you perhaps mean… more than that?"

"I just want him to think of me as more than a friend. But he never does. I mean, he's agreed to go out with me a couple of times, but it hasn't gotten any farther than that. Well, I won't give up!" she declared, pounding the table and making Lupa jump. "I'll get him to like me if it's the last thing I do!"

"I-I see you are determined. But how can you make him feel any differently about you?"

"I'll… I'll be perfect! I'll do everything for him! I'll be everything he wants! He won't be able to resist me!" she announced, her eyes blazing with fiery determination.

"Oh. Then, I wish you the most fortune, and please allow me to aid you in any way I can." She looked up attentively and smiled slightly. "It seems your act of kindness was not in vain. See, he comes now."

Amy looked around eagerly, but couldn't see him anywhere. "Where? I don't see him," she said. "Or… did you hear him?" she asked curiously.

Lupa bowed her head shyly. "Er… yes. I did. You should be able to see him now, though. See?"

Amy looked up again and found his blue quills in the middle of the crowd of people wandering around. He was walking casually toward them, holding up a hand in greeting when he caught sight of them.

"There you two are. I've been looking all over for you," he said when he had come up to them. "Where's Tails? The Tornado wasn't that bad, was it?"

"I don't think so. He didn't say anything about it, so I guess it's okay," answered Amy. She indicated the line of food stores behind them. "He's over there, getting something. This is for you," she said and pushed the brown paper bag over to him.

"Yes!" he exclaimed and examined its contents. "First thing I've had all day! Thanks!"

"So, you're finished with the pictures, then?" asked Amy.

"Oh, yeah. I'm done," he said with his mouth full. He swallowed and looked over at Lupa. "Aren't you hungry?"

She shook her head. "I am fine. You need not concern yourself with me."

"You sure? You seemed pretty hungry last night."

She looked down in indecision, and then perked her head up alertly. "I believe someone is looking for you," she said after a brief pause.

"Really? Who?" wondered Amy as she looked out in the same direction. A group of people soon came into view, methodically looking into every store they passed. They rudely pushed other people aside as they advanced, carefully shielding the cameras they carried from damage.

"Hey, they look like-" began Amy but stopped suddenly when Sonic gasped and dove under the table. "Aah! Sonic! What do you think you're doing?" she cried at him, reddening as she made sure her skirt was flat.

"Shh!" hissed the tablecloth. "I'm not here!"

"Here they come," said Lupa. Amy looked up and saw that she was right. The photographers were making a beeline for them, some of them taking a few glances into the stores they passed.

"Pardon our intrusion, ladies," the apparent head of the group started. "But we're in search of your spiky, blue friend. I don't suppose you've seen him?"

"I… thought he was with you," said Amy.

"He was, but he got up and left right in the middle of a session," he explained with a frown. "No explanation. Figured he'd come to find you guys. You're sure you haven't seen him?"

"Uhh… no… er… yes… I mean, I am sure I haven't seen him," stammered Amy, her face flushing hotly.

"If we had, what would it change?" asked Lupa steadily. "If he is not here now, why are you still here?"

"Hm," He looked at the half-eaten hot dog on the table and raised an eyebrow skeptically at her.

She stared back just as steadily, her dark eyes seeming to look straight through him. Amy watched them as her penetrating gaze never wavered and his soon turned away.

He turned to his followers. "C'mon, guys. He's around here somewhere," he said and they all walked off the same way they had come.

"Way to stare him down," Amy congratulated her as they left.

She looked down shyly and said nothing.

Sonic's head poked out from under the tablecloth. "Are they gone?" he asked quietly.

"What was that all about?" she asked him instead. "I thought you said you were done."

"Well _I'm_ done," he returned as he sat back down. "They got about a billion shots. I think that's more than enough."

She sighed and shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Just let me do what I gotta do," he replied with a wink in her direction. "So, what'd I miss after you left me?"

"Not too much. Mostly wandering around and answering her questions."

Lupa nodded. "Yes. She has been most informative. She is a very generous person. You are very fortunate to have her as a friend."

_Uh-oh, _he thought with cautious dread. He glanced up at the girls carefully before answering. Lupa was smiling at him helpfully, while Amy watched him with a _very_ expectant expression. _Something tells me I've been set up._ "Uhh… yeah, I… guess I am," he said with uncertain hesitance.

Amy smiled, satisfied with his answer, and even Lupa's face brightened slightly. He let out a small sigh of relief. Thank goodness he'd answered right. There was no telling what they would've done to him, unpredictable as they were. Fighting evil was nothing compared to figuring out how to handle girls.

Tails returned just then with four bowls of ice cream balanced on a tray. "Hi, guys," he greeted them. "I'm glad you got here, Sonic. I thought you might like something cold on a day like today."

"All right! Ice cream!" cheered Amy. She grinned at Lupa and pushed a bowl toward her. "You've gotta try this stuff! It's amazing!"

She glanced between her and the strange, white substance nervously. She gave it a tentative poke and stared at the small blob that stuck to her finger in wonder. "It… it is cold," she said in surprise.

"It should be," laughed Tails. "Give it a try!"

She looked up at him uncertainly before sticking it in her mouth. She stiffened suddenly and a smile of pleasure slowly spread across her face while she let out a hum of pleasure.

"Pretty good, eh?" asked Sonic.

"Mmm. I did not know it was possible for anything to be this good," she replied dreamily. She accepted a plastic spoon from Tails and looked at it in confusion before gripping the rounded end and sticking the handle into the ice cream. Tails opened his mouth to correct her, but Sonic stopped him with a slight shake of his head and held up his own spoon similarly. The others followed along with this new technique, trying not to laugh at this unusual eating method.

"Careful you don't get a brainfreeze," warned Amy after a short time.

"Brain… freeze?" she repeated between bites. "What is… nnngh!" she cried, suddenly gripping her forehead. "What did I do? _Crilch_! It hurts!"

"It's okay," Tails assured her. "It's just a natural reaction to eating cold food too quickly. Just wait a bit for it to calm down."

She whimpered and put her head down at the table until the numbing pain calmed down. Amy reached over to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she flinched away from her, looking up at her in fear for a brief moment before looking away again. "S-sorry," she mumbled. "It is my… reflexes."

They sat in awkward silence as her eyes drifted toward her ice cream. "You have done so much for me and have answered many of my questions," she said, raising her eyes and looking at them all in turn. "I know you wonder about me. Please allow me to answer your questions, now."

"What? No, it's okay," said Sonic. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

She turned to him. "I know that it was you who wanted to know about these." She stretched her arm forward and began tracing the almost invisible lines that ran along it. "You were almost right. Many of these were from combat," she explained softly. "I only ever went to four true battles, but I was trained every day."

"Trained? For what?" asked Sonic.

She shrugged. "Everything. Strength, speed, endurance, skill with any weapon."

"Why?" asked Amy. "What were you training for?"

She frowned. "I… they never did tell me. The king discovered my powers when I was quite young and I was put into his service when I was deemed strong enough. I was five when I first held a sword."

"Five?" repeated Tails in shock. "But… what about your family? Didn't they have a say in this?"

"Oh, yes," she replied coldly. "They were in complete agreement. It was they only way to make myself useful." She met their shocked expressions calmly. "I come from a much harsher time, you understand. Every person had to serve a purpose, or they were a burden on the others. My… abilities were seen as a curse that would only cause destruction, and so I was avoided by all. The king, however, saw them as a weapon that could be used to expand our borders and increase our wealth. So I began training. Training to be the perfect fighting force: deadly with the sword, lethal with the bow, impossible to hit or even sneak up on. And if I wasn't, then I quickly learned to be."

She paused and stared down at her hands. "It was never enough, though. All my training, all my skill gained me nothing. I helped to win four major battles for my king, but I was still the cursed _si'reetia _that roamed the kingdom, whose only purpose was to kill and destroy." She sighed with deep sorrow. "And I could not prove them wrong."

"But your family," argued Sonic. "They didn't think that. They knew better, right?"

She looked up at him sadly. "Many of these were from training, but the others were inflicted by the ones I disappointed most when I failed to do what they expected. Especially my father."

"What?"

"One of my abilities is a perfect memory. I remember exactly how I got every single one of these scars. This one came from a knife he threw at me when I failed to pass my combat test. This came from the time he threw me into a rack of spears when I told him I no longer wanted to fight. And this one." She traced the previously unnoticeable line that ran down her cheek. "My brother attacked me with his sword in front of his… friends. I should have easily been able to escape without harm, but I did not think he would…" she trailed off.

"But… Wasn't there anyone who was on your side?" asked Amy.

Her eyes grew distant. "…Yes. Neguuma and Rregnis. They belonged to the opposing army, but they chose me over them." She sighed and closed her eyes in regret. "And they were killed for it."

They sat quietly for a few seconds, giving Lupa some time to silently mourn. Then she looked up at them questioningly. "Is there more you wish to know? Do not fear to ask, it is fine, really."

"Uhh… well, I am curious as to how that particular argument started," admitted Tails.

She nodded. "My family believed that I belonged to them and the kingdom. The other army had trained me and made me what I was and felt that I was theirs. That is where the trouble began," she explained with a sigh.

"But weren't they all on the same side?" asked Sonic.

"No. they were different entirely. We were the Luperna, wolves of noble blood. They were the Négriss, but no one knew what they were or where they had come from. We were allies until our sixteenth year of peace and they made their intentions about me clear. The king, of course did not agree with them, and this argument soon became a war. We were completely overpowered by their fierce weapons, and we fled while the city crumbled. Neguuma and Rregnis, though they were also Négriss, came with us and put me inside of the… thing that kept me alive all this time. They did not escape so easily, though. Their treachery was punishable by a slow death, if they survived that last stand."

"Oh, wow," breathed Amy. "I'm so sorry."

"Why?" she asked calmly. "There was nothing you could have done, even if you had been there. And there is nothing you can do now. Why apologize for something you had no part of?"

"Well, it's over now, right?" offered Sonic. "I mean, this happened over six thousand years ago. It's not like they're gonna come back after all that time. They're long gone."

She nodded slowly. "…I suppose you are right," she said unconvincingly.

"And even if they did, we'd stay by you 'till the end!" announced Tails cheerfully.

"Yeah, and kick their butts straight back to wherever they came from!" added Sonic.

She stared at them. "You… you mean that?" She gave a small hopeful smile as they nodded their affirmation. "Th-thank you. That… means so much."

"That's what friends are for!" said Amy. "Now let's go shopping!"

Sonic groaned. "Do we have to?"

"Well either that, or wait for those camera guys to come back."

He groaned again, placing his head on the table in hopeless defeat. Lupa looked at him sympathetically. "Be at ease, Sonic. I will warn you if they return," she offered.

"Wait. You mean you're not finished yet?" asked Tails.

"His head came back up quickly. "Oh, yeah. I'm done. Let's get going before they come back."

The remainder of the afternoon was spent meandering around the complex while avoiding the persistent photographers. Amy would go into a store and if she didn't drag Lupa in with her, she would wait outside with Sonic and Tails as they told her of their numerous adventures. Then Amy would return, load up Sonic with her purchases and they would continue on.

"So the moon looks so different because this Egg-man destroyed it with this E-klix Cannon?" Lupa asked Tails.

"Uh-huh. And he tried to repair it later, but it didn't really work, but it kinda did, and he tried to take control of it, so Sonic had to stop him from doing that, too."

"Oh."

"Okay. Why am I carrying these again?" asked Sonic from behind a ridiculously large load of parcels and bags that towered over him like a mountain.

"Because you care and would do anything for your girlfriend," replied Amy simply.

He sighed. "Look, Amy. I think you should know that-"

"They are coming this way," Lupa suddenly interrupted.

"What? Where? I can't see!"

"Stand here! Do not move!" Lupa directed him. He froze obediently and he stood in front of him, blocking what remained visible from behind the mountain of merchandise from view as the photographers came around the corner.

"Tony! Careful! You will drop them!" she cried as they walked by, giving them odd looks. "Do not be so clumsy! Do you have them now? Good." She looked away down the walkway with a frustrated frown. "I do not see why Sonic left us. We are struggling under his burden, while he leaves to get food."

"The food court! I knew he'd show up there! Let's go, guys!" The camera crew immediately turned in that direction and rushed off.

Lupa sighed in relief. "I did not think that would work. Sorry for that."

"Why? It worked, didn't it?" returned Sonic. "Now let's get out of here before they come back."

"Ooh! Let's go to the beach!" suggested Amy eagerly.

"Yeah! They'll never find us there!" agreed Tails.

"Uhh… these are getting really heavy…"

"Oh, yeah. Just drop those off at our room," instructed Amy.

"Uhh…"

"I'll go with you to make sure you don't run into anything," offered Tails.

"Okay! We'll meet you at the beach! Bye!" called Amy as she grabbed Lupa and began pulling her away.

After a short walk, they found the sandy shores of Whiteshore Beach. They stopped at the edge of the sand, where Lupa dug her feet into the fine, powdery substance with a small smile.

As they walked down toward the ocean, Lupa couldn't help looking around at the hundreds of people crowded along the huge stretch of sand. "There are more people here than where we just were," she noticed in wonder.

"Oh yeah. On a day like today, how could you stay inside?" replied Amy.

"So, what happens now?"

"Whatever you want!"

"T-truly? Then… could we… perhaps… get some more of that… screamy food?" she asked with nervous hesitation.

Amy giggled. "Sure. Ice cream it is. What flavor do you want?"

"Flavor?"

They found a refreshment vendor and tried chocolate this time, walking down the beach and resuming their question-and-answer session. The boys found them shortly and joined in amiably.

They spent the remainder of the day there, doing everything one can do on a sunny afternoon at a popular beach. They swam around for a bit (those that could), buried Tails in the sand and finally persuaded Lupa to participate in a beach volleyball game which she quickly got the hang of and almost won for her team. They also got her a cone that had all ten of the vendor's flavors balanced shakily on top of one another. She attracted a small crowd of spectators as she managed to consume all of it before it melted, enduring four brainfreezes in the process.

Eventually, the sun began to set, and the four friends began walking back to the Glamoria, still laughing at the day's events.

"Ha-ha! I didn't think you'd be able to eat all that ice cream, Lupa!" laughed Sonic. "Where do you put it all?"

"Umm… here?" she guessed, indicating her ever-so-slightly bulging stomach.

"Which one was your favorite?" asked Tails.

"They were all wonderful. But I think the green one was most enjoyable. Spitz-ashy, was it?"

"Pistachio?" translated Amy. "Really? ...Okay."

"You were really good at the volleyball game, too," continued Tails. "You sure you've never played before?"

"Never."

"I still say we should've got a picture of Tails in the sand," brought up Sonic. "Did you see how macho we made him look?"

"You mean chubby," corrected Tails, shaking his head. "I never should've let you guys talk me into it. I still don't think I got all the sand out of my fur."

"Well, it was fun, though," concluded Sonic.

"Fun… Yes. The most fun I have had in millennia"

They all turned to look at Lupa, who was smiling gratefully at them. "You have no knowledge of what today means to me. I did not think it possible to spend an entire day accomplishing nothing. Tonight will be the first night in my entire life where I can sleep and look forward to tomorrow. I… thank you from the bottom of my heart. You cannot understand the gratitude I feel."

They all smiled back. "No problem," replied Sonic.

"Anything for a friend," added Tails.

"I guess this means we'd better find something just as fun to do tomorrow to meet today's standards," said Amy.

"How about a run through town?" suggested Sonic.

"Or maybe a flight over it?" offered Tails. "Tomorrow morning's supposed to be perfect for it."

"That's a good idea," said Amy. Then she broke into a wide grin. "Oh! How about a picnic?"

"A pic-nic?" repeated Lupa.

"That sounds pretty good," agreed Sonic. "We'll do that in the afternoon."

"I can get lunch ready," said Amy.

"I can help," offered Lupa.

"No, you go flying with Tails. It'll be my treat."

"But-"

"Don't argue with her," whispered Sonic. "Trust me."

"…Oh."

"Okay then. We'll find a good spot tomorrow. This is gonna be great!"

They headed up to their room which was strewn with large bags from the mall. Amy managed to cram them all in her room, and then they all situated themselves in the three sofas in the main room while the sky outside slowly turned from orange to navy blue.

"Today was awesome," declared Sonic. "I mean, it started off kinda bad, but over all it was pretty good."

"Yeah. And tomorrow's gonna be even better," agreed Amy.

"So, Tails, how's the Tornado?"

"I had to replace the battery, but it was fine other than that," he replied. "While I was tuning it up, though, I overheard a couple of technicians from the traffic control towers. They were talking about a bunch of interference that was making it difficult to communicate with the pilots coming in and going out."

"That's weird," muttered Sonic.

"That's not even the weird part. What's really interesting is that it was first reported around one o'clock yesterday. That's around the same time that the Chaos Emerald disappeared and we crashed."

"You mean when Lupa was released?" wondered Amy.

He nodded. "And what's even stranger is that I asked if I could check it out, and what seems to be causing it is unstable energy waves in the atmosphere. Weird ones, almost like Chaos energy, but a lot more erratic. I think releasing her did a lot more to the Chaos Emeralds than just cause a Chaos Control."

"Did… I do something?" asked Lupa nervously.

"No, of course not," Amy assured her. "It's just that when you released from that… container thing, a whole bunch of energy was released, too."

She nodded. "Yes. The two men on the island spoke of that."

""That's right. And when this energy was released, it had a weird affect on the Chaos Emerald we had," added Sonic. "And on me and Shadow."

"And now it looks like this energy is having a bigger impact than we thought," continued Tails. "It's gotten stronger since then, and it's causing interference with radio signals. That might not do much in the short term, but if it continues to increase in strength, it could become a major problem."

"I think you're exaggerating a bit," said Amy. "I mean, a bit of static isn't gonna be that much of a problem."

"Well, if this static is doing something to the Chaos Emeralds and getting stronger, there's no telling what could happen."

"Oh. Right."

"Sorry, but what is a Kay-oss Em-ruld?"

"The Chaos Emeralds are seven mysterious jewels that have an unlimited amount of energy inside them," explained Sonic. "No one knows where they came from, but they've been around for generations. Alone, they can power machines and supercharge weapons to their highest power. But if someone collects all seven, they can become invincible. Needless to say, they're dangerous in the wrong hands, so I've done my part a few times to keep them safe."

"_Rah Brivka Slyth_," breathed Lupa._ "_So… you have seen what they can do?"

"Oh yeah. Used 'em, too. Tails is right, if the Chaos Emeralds get out of control, things could get pretty ugly."

Lupa looked shaken. "…Oh," she whispered.

"You wouldn't know anything about it, would you?" asked Tails. "The energy was released with you, after all."

She hesitated. "Uhh… No. That is, nothing that would help."

"Huh. Oh, well. So, what do you think we should do?" Sonic asked Tails.

"I'm not sure. We should probably keep a lookout to see what happens. If it continues to get worse, we'll check it out and find out what we can."

"After lunch," insisted Amy. "We're still having that."

"Sure. Right after that, we'll see what we can find," agreed Sonic. Then he stretched sleepily. "Right now, I'm calling it a day."

Agreement was voiced in yawns and sighs and they bid each other goodnight and went off to their rooms, leaving Lupa alone on the couch. She stared out the large window thoughtfully for a few minutes before sighing quietly. "The _Brivka_… once again out of balance," she whispered to herself. "Another thing that has happened because of me. Is there nothing I can do right?"

Then, after a few more minutes of looking out at the moon's reflection on the ocean, she finally drifted into a restless sleep.

* * *

**A.N.: **Okay, this chapter was, let's face it, cheesy as all get out. Every now and then, you've gotta have a breather, right? And SonAmy moments are just too cute to pass up! Thus the really long chapter that didn't really accomplish much of anything. It gets better later on, trust me.

Yeah, and I know Tony kinda acts a bit like Michel Gerard from Gilmore Girls, but I didn't mean to steal him! He just kinda... appeared that way. Sorry!

I kinda tried to integrate Sonic X into it a bit. I've been trying to avoid it, but there have been games after SA2B that have included scenes with a full moon, even though we all know that it shouldn't be. (The ending of Sonic 06, for the best example.) So, I tried to provide an explanation via Sonic X. It works.

R&R please! Reviews make me giggle all day, that's not really an exaggeration!


	5. Wasn't Expecting That

**A.N.: **So, here I am again! I made it! Thank you so much everyone for following this so far, it really means a lot to me. A special thanks still goes out to Eve Royal for being an awesome supporter and friend, and also to Cammie-Strone for tolerating my randomness!

And a big thank you to Kermita and Silhouette the Daemon-Wolf for all your support and awesomeness! Woohoo! Kermita, thanks for editing every update so far, I need someone to do that.

Silhouette, you get extra special mention because you finished that picture of Lupa for me! I have the link set up on my profile if anybody wants to see it. Silhouette the Daemon-Wolf is an amazing artist, so let's give her a big round of applause! YAY!

Anyhoo, the story continues just a few lines ahead. Just a reminder to those who didn't see earlier, I do not own the Sonic characters, their world or any of that kinda stuff. Sega does. They can keem 'em, too. Lupa is mine, as is the name Newtopia, so please be respctful and don't steal them. Thank you.

* * *

Chapter 4 – Wasn't Expecting That

"Hang on!

"W-waaah!"

Tails pulled back on the joystick and lifted higher into the blue sky. He had been showing Lupa the city from the skies, pointing out landmarks and tourist attractions down in the city below. Sonic had left hours earlier for a run around town, and Amy had stayed behind to prepare her surprise lunch for the picnic planned later that day.

Lupa's new, white dress fluttered in the wind and her single, bound lock that Amy had taken the time to neatly braid that morning was pushed back alongside her head as they soared high above Newtopia. She was holding tightly to the armrest of her seat, holding her breath behind clenched teeth as Tails expertly leveled off.

"There we go! You can see the whole city from up here, see?" pointed out Tails.

Lupa slowly released the breath she had been holding and cautiously looked down at the city far below them that seemed to start at the majestic sea, then thin out into rural outskirts as it stretched inland. The skyscrapers downtown stood proudly over it, keeping watch, each one reaching for heights they could not attain. The streets in their shadows were filled with hundreds of cars and buses, each trying to get to their own individual destinations.

"…Amazing," she finally said. "The people look like insects from up here. There are so many. Where are they all going?"

"Probably to work," answered Tails. "Most of them anyway."

"Oh," she said, moving away from the rim. "So, where are we going for the pic-nic?"

"I was thinking the Elder Woods. It's really nice and quiet in there. Here, I'll show you."

He steered out of his circular route and followed the coastline north until the city ended and rolling hills covered in a thick forest of broad leafed trees stretched before them. A single road snaked through it, circling around a lake that lay in its deepest part, like a hidden treasure. There were a number of cabins around the lake and a few boats sailing on it, enjoying the beautiful day.

"_Marah_," breathed Lupa in awe. "It is beautiful. Is this the place you meant?" she asked, looking over at Tails.

"Around here, yeah. I thought it'd be a nice place to spend the afternoon. Now we've gotta find a place where we can land without bothering anyone."

Lupa nodded and looked back down at the sea of green below them with the innocent wonder of a child. She started suddenly as she spotted something blue flash by underneath the leafy branches of the old trees. She carefully tracked it as it climbed to the top of one of the hills where the trees thinned out. It ran out into the open spot at the very top, turned around and waved cheerfully at them.

She recognized Sonic immediately and relaxed as she shyly returned the friendly gesture. "What are you waving at?" asked Tails over his shoulder.

"Sonic. He is down there, see?" She pointed down to him and listened as he yelled something up at them, though they were much too high up to hear. "He wants us to follow him. He says he has found a good spot for lunch," she reported.

Tails let out a small laugh and shook his head in disbelief at the wolf's incredible hearing, and veered off to where his friend stood, still waving up at them. Then he turned away, sprinting down the hill as they followed from the sky. He lead them to a small clearing down in between the gentle slopes of two of the surrounding hills. He stood in its center, looking up at them and holding up his hands in a questioning manner.

"All right!" exclaimed Tails. "I can land here!" He easily guided the Tornado down onto the soft grass and, though it was a small space, had no trouble landing the craft. He hopped out, followed closely by Lupa, and greeted their friend. "Hi! Nice spot you found."

"This is just the landing strip," he returned simply. "Check this out!"

He led them down a little trail into the forest, to another clearing where an old willow tree drooped regally over a babbling brook that sparkled in the bright sunlight which shone through the leaves. It looked like a scene taken straight out of a fairy tale, complete with warbling birdsong in the branches overhead.

"Wow," approved Tails. "Nicely done. How'd you find it?"

"I was in the area and I kinda just stumbled on it. You think it'll work?"

"Yeah, it's great. What do you think, Lupa?"

"It is beautiful. You chose well."

"Thanks. Let's head back and get Amy. I'm starving."

They took off into the air, with Sonic again situated comfortably on the wings above the others. "I hope we can find it again," said Tails as they rose above the trees.

"Do not worry. I will remember the way," Lupa assured him.

"Oh yeah. That perfect memory really comes in handy," said Sonic.

"…Sometimes."

They returned to Newtopia, finding Amy in their hotel room stuffing the last of the lunch into a large bag from the mall. She placed a blanket on top of it to hide its contents from the curious peeks the others tried to sneak at it, and followed them back to the Tornado.

Before long, they were once again soaring above the vast Elder Woods, following Lupa's directions to the hidden grove between the hills. They found the open patch of ground and, after a smooth landing, headed down the little trail to the creek in the forest.

"Oh, wow!" gasped Amy when she saw the picturesque location. "It's beautiful! How'd you find such a perfect spot?"

"I just found it here," replied Sonic with a casual shrug. "I figured it would do. Now, how about lunch?"

Pulling the blanket off with artistic grace and spreading it on the ground under the drooping branches of the willow tree, Amy began pulling out an array of goodies out of the shopping bag. Cakes and cookies, a fruit-and-veggie platter complete with dip, a couple dozen sandwiches, a sealed jug of lemonade and a tub of pistachio ice cream were placed on the blanket, much to the anticipation of the hungry group.

"Ta-dah!"

"How'd you get all that in there?" asked Tails.

"Not easily," she answered, shaking her head. "Here, Lupa, this is for you," she said, handing her the tub of ice cream.

"Oh! T-thank you," she said, accepting the gift cautiously. She sniffed it and, with a confused frown, opened it gingerly and lit up as she discovered the green substance inside. She gave Amy a grateful look before diving into it wholeheartedly.

Pretty soon they were all seated around the blanket, chowing down on the picnic lunch. They had gotten about halfway through it when Lupa suddenly perked her head up and looked over at the bushes across the stream intently, her white muzzle smeared with green.

"…I hear something," she reported nervously.

"Oh? It's probably a bird, or something," dismissed Amy.

She shook her head. "No. it sounds… unnatural."

"Then it's probably other campers," said Tails. "There were guys out on the lake earlier, so there are probably a couple of hikers out here, too."

She shook her head again, listening for a moment before reporting, "They are coming closer."

"Relax, Lupa," said Sonic. "Nobody's looking for us. Why would they?"

She didn't answer, her hands gripping the half-empty tub of tightly. Her eyes narrowed and she continued to watch the bushes attentively.

"Come on, Lupa, it's fine," Amy assured her.

Her tail twitched tensely. "They are coming straight for us. Fast."

"They?" repeated Tails. "They who?"

"I am unsure. It... it sounds like an army."

"An army? I think you're overreacting there," said Amy.

She stood up anxiously. "We should leave. N-now."

"What? Leave? When the party's just getting started? No way!" Sonic jumped to his feet, grinning eagerly.

"But what about-" started Amy when she was cut off as a hail of bullets exploded from the bushes across the creek, aimed directly at them.

They barely had time to react when an orange, transparent wall suddenly appeared between them and the oncoming bullets. They bounced off of it and fell to the ground harmlessly, leaving nothing more than rippling shockwaves on the wall. The attack soon ended as abruptly as it had started, and as soon as it did, the wall also disappeared.

Everyone stared speechlessly at Lupa, who had had her arm extended toward the direction of fire the entire duration of it and had withdrawn it just as it had ended. It was as if she had created the protective wall. She looked back at them, and then glanced down with nervous uncertainty.

Sonic recovered first. "Did you just-" he tried to ask, but a number of robots burst out of the bushes across the stream, charging straight at them.

He immediately reacted, splashing across the shallow water and ramming into the robot at the head of the charge. It spun off course and collided with the bot on the right, and started up a pile of metallic bodies as they fell over one another.

He had rebounded off the first robot and had rolled into a spiky ball, firing himself at the others one at a time. They fell one after another from his counter-attack in sparking, broken pieces. Then he shifted his attention to the immobilized pile of disorganized droids and jumped into the air, spinning rapidly, and came down at them hard, bouncing from one to the next in quick succession. As he pushed off the last one, there were enough sparks and spilled fuel to cause an explosion underneath him, sending him even higher as metal shot off in every direction.

He did several flips in the air before landing in front of the smoking crater. "Woo! Is that all you've got? Come on!" he taunted the defeated robots.

"Sonic! Look out! Above you!" Lupa called as she ran toward him, pointing up at the sky. About twenty flying robots were swooping down from above, each carrying a round, mechanical foot soldier with a loaded gun pointed down at them.

"Well, looks like they mean business," said Sonic as he braced for their attack.

He jumped back from a rain of missiles that they fired at him. He didn't have to, though, as they were blocked by another wall that had appeared above his head in a hemisphere around him when Lupa lifted up her hands above her head as if to hold them off herself. The blocked shots exploded outside of it, leaving a cloud of smoke encircling the barrier.

Tails and Amy ran over to join them as Lupa dropped her arms and the smoke poured in around them.

"Here they come," she warned them, keeping her eyes skyward. She had barely finished when the robots burst through the smoke, dropping off their loads in a line in front of them and buzzing around aggressively while wielding their own guns.

Sonic ran at the larger ground-based robots as soon as they hit the ground, while Tails and Amy backed off, being less skilled in combat than him. Lupa jumped at one of the flying machines, grabbed it by one of its guns and threw it at another, causing both to blow up in midair.

Sonic had rolled himself up into a tight ball and, spinning rapidly, shot himself straight though one of the larger robots. He continued to roll around rapidly, ramming into bot after bot and dodging their fired shots easily.

After taking out almost all of them, he slid to a stop and jumped out the way as one of the flying robots opened fire at him. He let it chase him until he met up with another ground unit that was aiming at him with its missile launcher. Thinking fast, he put on a burst of speed and raced toward it even faster, with the other robot close behind. Then, before the robot in front of him could fire, he slid between its legs, causing his pursuer to run straight into it. Both met a fiery demise, while he slid on, unharmed.

He got up and looked around for another target. He saw Lupa, backing up from an airbot high above her. It flew in toward her and opened fire, and she put a barrier around herself defensively. As she did so, another one came in from behind at ramming speed.

"Hey! Look out!" he called out to her, but she didn't respond. Instead, she waited until they were almost upon her and then she looked up and disappeared in a flash of orange light, causing both to crash into each other and explode.

An impressed smile spread across his face, and he looked around for her to reappear, when something from behind knocked him flat and held him down. Craning his head around, he found that one of the metallic soldiers had its foot pressed down on him, charging its arm cannon which was aimed at his head.

"Ngh! Uhn!" he grunted as he tried to squeeze free in vain. He glared defiantly up at it, then smiled smugly as he caught a glimpse of an airbot with Lupa balanced on top of it, diving at the robot that had him pinned.

He pointed at them and it turned its head curiously. Lupa flew her ride straight into it, jumping off at the last second and knocking the robot off of Sonic. It crashed into a nearby tree while the airbot sputtered uselessly on the ground for a second before self-destructing.

"Nice job," he congratulated her as he quickly got up.

She looked back at him uncomprehendingly for a second before glancing aggressively at the robot she had knocked into the tree. It had recovered from its fall and was pointing its cannon at them.

Suddenly, Amy appeared out of nowhere and slammed her hammer into it with all her might. The blow was enough to knock its head right off and it slumped to the ground dead.

She looked up at Sonic and grinned cutely and posed, as if destroying killer robots was something she did every day.

"Well, that takes care of the big ones," concluded Sonic, looking up at the airbots regrouping high above them. "Now it's just those guys left."

"No," argued Lupa. "We are surrounded."

"What?" asked Amy, as she came over to join them. But she screamed when the woods on all sides were flattened by at least a dozen massive, armored mechanoids. They each had two rapid-fire turrets for hands; thick, gray plating with red stripes; treaded tracks that ripped up the soft ground and a glass visor that blinked red as they surged toward them in as a single synchronized unit.

"Whoa!" yelled Sonic as the robots let fly with their machine guns at the same time the flying robots swooped down from above, firing mercilessly at them. Lupa spread out her hands again and a protective bubble appeared around them, deflecting the fired shots.

Sonic watched her for a second, her eyes blazing orange and intently focused on the barrier around them, before turning to Amy. "Where's Tails?" he asked, shouting over the hollow noise the bullets made as they bounced off the shield.

"I dunno!" she yelled back. "He said that he had to get something and ran off!"

"Okay. You two find somewhere to hide. I'll take care of these clowns."

"Ngh! Will you… not need assistance, Sonic?" asked Lupa with a sideways glance at him. "Do not… think me incapable. I can aid you if you need it."

He smirked at her. "Don't worry about me. This is nothing. You two can work together to take out any I miss. And keep an eye out for Tails, too."

She nodded. "As you wish."

The robots began closing in around the little bubble, still firing relentlessly at it. Then, they were all suddenly thrown back as Lupa pushed out with her shield with a determined cry of exertion. At the same time, Sonic flew out at them in a spinning blue ball, charging into them like a well-aimed pinball.

Lupa grabbed Amy and warped out of the battlefield in the midst of the confusion, ducking behind the willow on the other side of the stream. They watched as he ricocheted from robot to robot, hitting them with enough force to dent their thick armor or knock loose limbs, depending on where he hit them. But it wasn't enough to stop them.

He stopped once he realized he wasn't accomplishing anything and observed them as they formed a semicircle around him. Trap doors opened on their torsos, revealing round holes loaded with huge rockets ready to fire.

"Hmm. Bringing out the big guns, eh?" he commented with a grin. "Things are finally starting to get interesting."

There was a resounding _**boom**_ and a rushing sound as the rockets fired and Sonic shot off into the woods. He weaved between trees and zigzagged evasively through the foliage, but he only lost a couple of the projectiles as they doggedly pursued him.

"Ohhh, tracking missiles. Okay." He turned sharply to the left and made his way to one of the torn up paths the robots had made in their ambush. He followed it back towards the clearing with the missiles hard on his heels.

Blocking entry to the clearing was one of the tank-like robots, opening its hatch for another rocket. He raced toward it and jumped right at it, flipping over its head and grinning cheerfully at it as it turned its head to fully face him. He flipped back around and hit the ground at the exact moment the first of the missiles ran into the robot behind him and detonated on impact.

As he continued to lead the remaining rockets into the other robots, he noticed Amy on the other side of the stream swinging her hammer fiercely at a couple of flying robots that were buzzing around just out of range. She was backed up against the willow, its drooping branches preventing them from getting too close. However, one of the tank-like robots was advancing slowly from behind, waiting until it could see her before shooting.

He glanced behind him and counted three missiles that had survived the collision. "Perfect," he said, and sprinted across the stream.

He jumped up onto the large robot's shoulder and rapped on its head to get its attention. It turned to face him and he pointed at the oncoming missiles casually.

"You forgot something," he informed it, then hopped up to one of the airbots that had flown too close.

As he bounced off of it and toward the other one that was still higher, he heard the first rocket slam into the ground-based robot behind him. He sprang off the higher airbot and heard two consecutive _kabooms _before he fell down to earth, swinging around on the branch above Amy's head before landing in front of her.

"Hey," he greeted casually. "Mind if I cut in?"

She smiled back, trying to keep up the casual mood, but unable to hide her relief. Then she glanced behind him and gasped softly.

He turned to face the line the remaining robots had formed around them. They were pointing their machine guns at them, two to each robot, standing or hovering in silent apprehension.

He glared at them, trying to decide which one to attack first without putting Amy in danger. She stood behind him, holding her hammer in front of her protectively, watching their attackers nervously.

_Okay, now what?_ he silently asked them, glancing back and forth indecisively. _I think I'm stuck. Shoot._

The two sides stared each other down for a few tense seconds before a huge missile appeared from the sidelines and slammed into one of the robots, sending it flying. Storming down the little trail was a mechanical, blue walker, its four legs propelling it toward the clearing at maximum speed. It smashed through the line of robots, destroying their formation and stood sturdily between the hedgehogs and the disarrayed robots.

A tinted glass dome opened on its top, and Tails waved down from it. "Hi guys! Sorry I'm late. Let's finish these guys off!" he greeted encouragingly.

"They're all yours," replied Sonic.

Tails nodded and the dome slid back into place. He turned the walker toward the army of recovering robots and let fly with a hail of small guided missiles that targeted the airbots and blew them out of the sky. Then two Gatling turrets appeared on its shoulders and the walker made a sweeping motion which took out all but two of the groundbots. Then, a cannon appeared on its back and fired a small bomb which landed between them and took them both out instantly.

Sonic stepped up to the walker and called up, "Nice job, Tails! I think this design's a keeper!"

The glass dome opened again. "Yeah, I think you're right. It still has a few bugs in it, but the X-Z just might be a new standard for me." He looked around curiously. "Where's Lupa?"

"Lupa? She's right-" started Sonic, but after looking around the clearing, found no sign of the wolf. "She was right with us. Where'd she go?" He turned to Amy. "You were with her last, right?"

"Yeah, but when you left, the robots came after us. She tried to attract their attention and we got split up. I don't know what happened to her."

Sonic walked to the middle of the clearing. "Lupa!" he called. "Where are you? Come back!"

Tails climbed down from the Tornado and examined an airbot that had had made it through the battle in one piece. As he did so, he noticed something in its gun design and disconnected it for a better look. "Sonic! Look at this!" he called to his friend.

Sonic and Amy both came over to him. "What's up?" asked Sonic.

"Look," answered Tails, pointing at the shaft of the gun he held in his hands. "See this? It's designed to rotate between ammunition." He popped opened the magazine, where two smaller compartments were connected to the shaft. He opened them, finding bullets in one and darts in the other.

"What're those?" asked Amy, pointing at the darts.

"If they're what I think they are, then Lupa could be in trouble," he replied, carefully taking one out for a closer look.

"What do you mean? What are they?" asked Sonic.

"It's a tranquilizer. Strong one, too, by the looks of it. Probably enough to knock you out instantly."

"Hey, look at that one," said Amy, pointing over at another robot that lay nearby. It hadn't come through as well as the first one had, but out of the remains of its belly snaked a long cord that split into two halfway down its length, each with a round weight at its end. "What's that thing for?" she asked.

"It's used to immobilize the opponent," explained Tails. "When thrown the right way, the weights wrap the rope around them and tie them up." His eyes widened with realization. "These robots were designed to capture. I think Lupa's been kidnapped!"

"Then we've gotta help her!" declared Sonic. He looked around at the dozen or so paths that had been made by the tank-like robots, wondering which one to take. Then he stopped and let his sixth sense track her down. It did, immediately pinpointing the direction she was in with perfect accuracy.

"This way," he said with a nod down one of the paths and dashed down it with focused determination.

It plowed straight through the woods, toppled trees and torn up earth making it impossible to miss. He shook his head as he followed it, wondering how someone could be so careless in leaving a perfect trail for him. He glanced back as he heard the Tornado come up behind him, with Tails and Amy in the cockpit, galloping with surprising grace over the rugged trail.

After a short time, the trail rounded a huge tree and began to slope downward. Around this bend, it was lined with small, round robots on each side that began to shoot as soon as the intruders came into view. Tails lowered the protective dome and began charging the line on the right while Sonic moved left and, rolling himself up, took them out like bowling pins.

Continuing down the trail, more and more robots tried to block their path, but they were no match for Sonic and Tails as they plowed through them with no difficulty at all. After breaking through a final line of the metal guards, they abruptly stopped and found themselves in large clearing at the base of a hill in which sat a familiar red battleship, protected by another line of robotic soldiers.

Sonic braced for action eagerly. "Is that it? This'll be a piece of ca-"

"Hold on a minute there, Sonic," interrupted a new voice. A door on an upper level of the airship opened onto an extended platform and out of it stepped the familiar form of Dr. Eggman. "I think you'd better stop and listen a bit, first."

"Eggman," Sonic greeted him with insincere friendliness. "I thought those robots looked familiar. Who else would have them blow each other up?"

The doctor frowned. "Smart as ever, I see," he returned dryly. "But now I have the upper hand, so I suggest you keep your comments to yourself if you want the little wolf girl in one piece."

"What have you done with her?" demanded Sonic, any amusement immediately forgotten.

"Nothing yet. And it'll stay that way so long as you point those things elsewhere," he answered, gesturing at the Tornado's guns.

Sonic glared at him, then nodded up at Tails. The walker, with slow reluctance, sank down onto the ground, its numerous weapons retracting back inside or pointing down uselessly. The dome opened and Tails and Amy displayed defiance as they also glared up at him.

"Good boys," sneered Eggman and turned to nod at something behind him. Two robots came out of the door: a short, round, gray and yellow one that was missing its head, and a taller, thinner blue one with an unsteady limp. Between the two of them they supported Lupa by her shoulders, her head hanging limply forward on her chest.

"Lupa!" cried Sonic.

"She's fine. She's still under the effect of the sedative," explained Eggman calmly. "Did you actually think I was going to bring that wild creature here fully conscious? She nearly destroyed my battleship last time."

"It sounded more like your own robots destroyed it as she was trying to escape," argued Tails.

"Hm! What would she know? It was my airship!" he shot back defensively. "Besides, she's not as defenseless as she looks. She took out half a squadron on her way out."

"What do you want with her?" demanded Amy.

He looked down at Lupa as she moaned softly and sluggishly shook her head. "I think I'll let her tell you," he replied knowingly.

She quickly returned to consciousness and her head shot up as she looked around in alarm. She froze when she caught sight of Eggman standing next to her. "Y-you," she blurted in recognition.

He grabbed her braid and pulled up sharply, causing her to cry out in pain. "So, you remember me, do you? Good. Let's not have a repeat of last time, all right?" He indicated the scene below him with his free hand. "We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt now, would we?"

She glared up at him with bared teeth before she allowed herself a look down at the field. Tails and Amy looked back up at her with concern from the cockpit of the Tornado. Sonic nodded at her and smiled confidently. The unmoving line of robots before them still had their guns pointed at them threateningly, waiting for order to fire.

She looked the scene over thoughtfully, and then turned her head as the headless robot lifted its free hand, converted it into a gun and pointed it at Eggman. The other robot quickly reached over and corrected its aim for it, so it was pointed at her instead.

She lowered her upper lip back over her teeth and unclenched her fists submissively.

Eggman let go of her braid and she glared back at him again. "Smart move," he said, turning to the waiting group below. "So, you want to know what I want with her, do you? Have you seen what she can do?" he asked rhetorically. "Generating force fields and activating a Chaos Control at will aren't exactly typical abilities for one to possess, are they?"

"What good are her powers gonna do for you?" asked Sonic.

"Where do you think she got these powers?" he continued as if she weren't there. "And why are all these strange occurrences happening at the same time?"

"What're you getting at, Eggman?"

"The Chaos Emeralds' sudden strange behavior, the interference in the airwaves, this new energy source that leads directly to her! You think that this is all a coincidence?"

"You know," said Lupa quietly.

"The answer is this!" he announced, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a small vial filled with a bright orange liquid.

"What's that?" asked Amy.

"A blood sample I took the liberty to take from her. But it's more than that, isn't it?" he said, turning to Lupa. "Care to elaborate?"

She held his gaze levelly. "In my blood are the many tiny pieces of one of the _Brivka S'lyth_," she answered steadily. "Or, as you call them, the Chaos Emeralds."

There was silence for a few seconds. Sonic, Tails and Amy all exchanged a confused look. Finally, Sonic asked, "What?"

"There were once nine of these stones," she continued. "The eight _Brivka_ and the _Yalta,_ the master. They were all of different colors: the ones you know of, and an orange one as well. When I was… very, very young, they took this orange stone and… put it inside of me. It gave me strength and strange powers, but it also threw the other _Brivka_ out of balance. When I was… asleep for all that time, the balance was restored, but now that I have been released…" she trailed off and looked down in shame.

The three friends stared at her wonder. "An eighth Chaos Emerald," breathed Sonic. That explained a lot.

"See why she's so interesting?" asked the doctor. "With her connection to the emeralds, I can unleash even higher levels of energy from them. Nobody will be able to stand up to me! Not even you!"

"Heh. That's what you think," returned Sonic with an urgent glance at Lupa. "C'mon," he said quietly. "I know you can hear me. Get out of there, we can take care of him."

She looked back at him apologetically and shook her head in a barely perceivable motion. He stared back in confusion. _Why isn't she doing anything?_

"Say what you will, but I'll have the last laugh!" declared Eggman as he held up his hand as a signal. The engines roared to life and the Stormer began to rise into the air. "Let 'em have it!" he called to his robots waiting below.

Sonic jumped out of the way as they let loose their weapons with sudden gusto while Tails quickly lowered the glass dome and raised his defense shields as he desperately tried to get the walker back on its feet. As they struggled to prepare a counterattack, the Stormer ascended high above them while Eggman cackled triumphantly.

"Lupa! Get out of there!" Sonic called up to her. He was running around the clearing, knocking aside the robots one by one. But whenever he managed to break a gap in the line, another robot would take its place and begin shooting.

Tails was still having trouble getting the Tornado to stand, and was unable to strike back until he did. All he could do was hunker down and hope the shields held until the fight was over.

Sonic had just taken out the last robot when a terrified shriek rang out from the escaping ship. He looked up and, though he couldn't see much from where he stood, he could hear something going on up there.

"_Sreet'cha! Miat'niet co lute'ciev! Rah Négriss tu kyasil! Nas'crantu!_" Lupa babbled in some foreign language, sounding completely insane.

"What are you yelling about? Stop that!" Eggman yelled in protest. "Hey! I said stop!"

After a few seconds of the overlapping shouts, Lupa suddenly leaped off of the ship and fell nose first towards the ground. She landed expertly in a somersault and quickly stood up, staring wildly up at the airship.

Sonic ran over to her. "Hey, are you okay? What took you so long?" he asked.

"I did not want anyone to get hurt. Not even him," she explained. "But that is impossible now."

"Huh?" he wondered, following her gaze.

The doctor was still on the extended platform, shouting orders to his mechanical crew. "Don't just stand there! Get her back! Ready all cannons! Attack!" he commanded as the ships large weapons began pointing down at the clearing he just vacated.

Sonic braced for action with eager anticipation, but Lupa just shook her head. He gave her a sideways glance. "You're being awfully calm about this," he commented curiously.

She remained focused on the ship, frowning anxiously. "He is not what I am worried about," she responded mysteriously.

They watched it charge its guns and then suddenly stop. They heard Eggman say, "Huh? What's going…? Yaaah!"

Something appeared on the hull of the ship and began crawling around on it quickly like a spider. It was soon followed by another, and another, until dozens of the things were swarming over the entire exterior in a methodical pattern, flowing in and out of its many windows and doors, covering as much area as possible, as if looking for something.

"Whoa! What're those things?" asked Sonic.

"If you value your life, them stay out of this," Lupa warned him, staying focused on the scene above.

"What…?" he started to ask, but a sharp whoop from the ship attracted his attention to it. The sound was repeated all over the craft like a signal, overlapping itself a hundred times over as the creatures carried it from one to another. Then, it abruptly stopped, and about a hundred bright eyes stared down at the group below them.

These things, whatever they were, were alive, organized and ready to act.

One of them let out a penetrating screech and every one of them sprang off of the Stormer and down to earth in a synchronized movement. Some of them spread what looked like wings and circled in the air until the others had all landed. They filled the clearing, some actually landing on the Tornado, straightening quickly and facing Sonic and Lupa with their teeth bared ferociously.

They were short, the tallest no more than a few inches taller than Sonic, with stout limbs and sharp claws. They were covered in scales, varying in shades of brown to dark green to navy blue to gray. Most of them stood on two legs, while the others remained on all fours, their short tails stuck straight out in preparation for action. They had short necks and large, broad heads with a long snout filled with sharp teeth and a very set back jaw. There were no whites in their colorful eyes, and they had reptilian, oval pupils and were all focused, Sonic noticed, on Lupa.

One of them took a step toward her, presumably their leader, and bared its teeth aggressively before speaking. "We've been waiting for you," it began as a crystal on a chain around its neck glowed brightly with every word. "Are you going to come easily, or are you going to be difficult?" it asked in a deep voice.

She held its gaze steadily, and then closed her eyes with a sigh. "Please, Sonic," she breathed. "Stay out of this." Then she looked back up with blazing orange eyes and vanished in a flash of light.

"Lupa! Wait-!" called Sonic, but he was drowned out by an overwhelming roar of frustration let out by the swarm of creatures. The leader snarled something at them in a language even stranger than Lupa's and pointed off to its right with a long, sharp claw. Its army charged off in the direction it pointed, ignoring Sonic as he protested and tried to stop them.

As the last of them bounded off, Sonic was about to pursue when the leader blocked his path. "Don't get involved in this, Mobian. Our issue is with her. Stay out of our way, or you will pay the consequences," it said with threatening authority. Then it pressed a button on the belt of its uniform and melted away into thin air.

"Wait!" Sonic called to him, but it was gone. _What _were_ those things?_ he wondered. _And what did they mean they were waiting for her?_

"Sonic!" he heard Amy call to him. He turned towards his friends, who were still in the cockpit of the walker as it still crouched uselessly in a defensive position. "What's going on? What _were_ those things?" she asked.

"I dunno," he answered. "But they're after Lupa. We've gotta help her. C'mon!"

"I can't," said Tails. "The Tornado's taken too much damage. It's not gonna stand a chance against those guys. I've gotta get it back to the hangar."

"All right. You guys head over there. I'll go after Lupa. We'll meet up later."

"How will we find you?" asked Amy.

He grinned at her. "Find those lizard guys. I won't be too far off," he answered before dashing off after the strange creatures.

He could feel Lupa running as well, jerking ahead in a Chaos Control every few seconds. What in the world was going on? And why was she so desperate to keep him out of it?

_The eighth Chaos Emerald…_ It was impossible, and yet it made sense.

He suddenly looked up to see if Eggman was chasing her, too, but the Stormer was nowhere in sight. _I guess he got out of here when those things showed up,_ he silently concluded.

He ran on, trying to catch up to the elusive wolf and the reptilian creatures pursuing her. _Something is definitely up between her and them. It's time we found out just what happened all those years ago. And why it didn't end then._

* * *

**A.N.:** Ooh! Cliffhanger! Mwahahahaha!

...I hate those things so much. So I had to have at least one. Come on.

Yeah, I apologize to anybody who reads this and has also come up with some variation of the eighth Chaos Emerald idea. I didn't mean to steal the idea, so don't think I did. I never thought of it as a very original idea, but I never found anyone else who had wrote about it. (Not that I looked, or anything...) This particular variation, however, belongs to me, so please don't steal it!

Please review! Even if you don't have an account! Feedback is necessary for improvement! Also it makes me happy. Don't not make me happy!


	6. You Can't Run Forever

**A.N.: **Hi, everybody! I would've posted this a couple of days ago, but my internet died. It keeled over, burning and writhing in its death throes while I bitterly wept and sulked and played pokémon.

It got better. And I am now happy. :)

I know it looks like I've been updating somewhat regularly, but this trend will soon end. Did I mention that already?

Anyhoo, the same disclaimer still stands. Everything but the main story idea, Lupa, the lizard creatures and Newtopia belong to Sega. The above list belongs to me. You want 'em? Nora sez no way!

Thanks again to Silhouette and Eve Royal for their continued support and awesomeness. Kermita and Cammie-Strone are also awesome people for editing and putting up with me in my randomness. Thanks!

* * *

Chapter 5 – You Can't Run Forever

Shadow was seated on the roof of the city's library when the creatures began attacking.

He was thinking, something he did often when he was alone. The other day's events kept replaying over and over in his mind, bringing with them dozens of unanswered questions. Why had that energy affected only him and Sonic? And why didn't Lupa, being the source of it, know anything about it? Unless of course she had lied about it, but why would she do that? Was she trying to hide something, and if so, what?

The unrelenting call still nagged at his sixth sense, and he shook his head in an attempt to deter it. He hadn't exactly lied when he told Sonic he couldn't leave her. Though the sensation had significantly lessened in intensity after that one touch, he could only go so far away before her energy overwhelmed his senses and he began unconsciously moving back toward her, which is what he caught himself doing after he had left them all at the airport.

He winced and sighed through his nose as he remembered this. He hated owing Sonic anything. He shouldn't have had to accept the ride they had offered him. The boat he had used to get to that island in the first place would have easily kept up to Tails's plane, if he hadn't totaled it beyond repair on the reef that lay hidden beneath the water's surface like a predator waiting for its oblivious prey. He would have remained stranded on that island if they hadn't given him a ride back and, though they may not have recognized it yet, it would only be a matter of time before they did, and he would owe them for it.

So here he was, ironically right back where he had started in Newtopia, trying to come up with a conclusion to everything that had happened. That it all came down to Lupa, there was no doubt; but to get her to open up and talk about it was like trying to extract a snail from its shell. She needed time to trust anyone before she would tell them anything, he could tell. Seeing as how his social skills weren't exactly outstanding, he wasn't going to take that time to accomplish nothing. He could let Sonic and his friends glean the information from her and pass it on to him. That would be another thing he owed him, but at least it would get him somewhere.

His head suddenly snapped up, his train of thought abandoned as he felt her move. He knew she had been somewhere outside the city and had been moving around strangely, but she had just jumped back towards it and was moving in fast. What had happened that had caused her to return so hastily?

He suddenly felt an energy spike of an entirely different type down below and glanced down to see a reptilian creature materialize on the steps of the building below him. The people in the area stopped and stared at it as well, frozen in wonder.

It reared up on two sturdy legs to its full height, its scaly hide shimmering in the sunlight. It was small, maybe four feet tall, but its gray coloring with black stripes and its thick, muscular limbs gave it an intimidating appearance nonetheless. It reminded him of a small dinosaur, except for the sky blue jumpsuit it wore.

He watched as the creature slowly scanned the people around it, and braced for what he knew was coming next. It lowered its head for a second, then raised it again as it let out a primitive roar that sounded like a prehistoric beast released from the past.

With the silence shattered, chaos broke out as people began screaming and running away in a panicked frenzy. More of the strange creatures began suddenly appearing all over the square in front of the library, snarling and hissing aggressively at the fleeing populace.

Holding his position and watching from above, Shadow noticed that it wasn't an attack so much as a way to clear the area. Once all the people had fled, the creatures rallied to the one that had appeared first on the steps of the library, most on two legs, some on four, others on six or more.

The creature that seemed to be their leader, even though it was smaller than most of them, snapped something at them in some foreign tongue and began pointing down the street in the direction Lupa was approaching. They began to move quickly in the direction it indicated, some spreading flaps of skin like wings and gliding on warm air rising from the road as the leader followed behind.

_This is beginning to look interesting,_ Shadow silently mused as he suddenly leaped off the roof and landed squarely on the little leader's shoulders, jumping off as it slid down the stairs on its belly. He began to chase down the band of lizards as they ran down the street, when an enraged roar from behind stopped them in their tracks and they all turned around aggressively.

He jumped at quadruped in front of him and landed a kick in its face before he was head-butted from the side by another of the creatures. With the wind knocked out of him, he slid to the sidewalk and struggled for air as he got to his feet in frustrated determination.

He began to move toward the creatures again when something whizzed over his head and hit a nearby mailbox, disintegrating it in an instant. He whirled in the direction it had come from and saw the leader pointing some strange kind of gun at him.

"Don't mess with us, furball. We're out of your league," it said in a menacing, reptilian croak.

"I doubt that," he returned, narrowing his eyes at the challenge. "What do you want here, anyway?" he asked it.

"That's none of your concern," it answered, a glowing, green crystal letting off a bright light with every word it spoke. "It has nothing to do with you, so just keep out of our way."

It grunted at its army and they obediently turned down the street again. It was about to join them when Shadow stepped in front of it, blocking its path.

"You're invading this city. And since I'm here, it _does_ concern me," he told it plainly. "What do you want here?"

"We're here on a mission. And I have orders to complete it without involving any of the inhabitants. But I also have permission to eliminate any obstacles that deter us." It pointed its gun at the hedgehog, clicking a trigger that charged it with a high-pitched whine. "Now stand aside or I _will_ use this!"

Not being one to take orders, especially not at this wannabe soldier, Shadow lunged toward it at amazing velocity. He sprang to the side as it fired at him, and then slammed into it hard.

The creature went sailing across the street, rolling to a stop near the sidewalk. He came at it again, just as fast, jumping into the air and coming down in a spinning ball of sharp quills. It rolled to the side just in time, and Shadow smashed into the road, leaving a crater in the asphalt. He bounced out of it, landing in a crouch and charged at it again as it fiddled with its weapon. Then it looked up with a triumphant smirk and jumped to the side, effectively dodging him like a matador teasing a bull.

As he spun around to come at it again, he noticed the gun in its hand was pointed at him again. He leaped aside to avoid the shot, but this one was different. A number of small, green lightning bolts came out of it instead of a single blast and locked onto him as if he were a lightning rod. They landed a direct hit, sending him flying backward through the air. He was unable to hold back a yell of agony as the artificial electricity sent spasms along his entire frame, ending only an instant before he hit the ground, bouncing once and tumbling backwards until he finally stopped when he hit the buildings on the far side of the street and didn't immediately get back up.

The lizard snorted in satisfaction at its downed opponent before looking down at its weapon in disgust. "I shouldn't have wasted that. Stupid furball," it muttered moodily. Then it began to follow after its army with one last glance at Shadow. "At least you won't be bothering us anymore."

Shadow opened his eyes and glared at the dinosaur-like reptile as it ran to catch up with its comrades. "That's what you think," he growled as he slowly got to his feet.

He could smell burnt fur, and, glancing down, noticed the blast had singed quite a bit of him, though his black color hid it well. _However, it seems I underestimated you, _he silently admitted as he shook his head to clear it._ I won't make that mistake again._ With that set thought he fired up his shoes and began skating after them, gaining quickly.

He could feel Lupa coming closer toward him, within sight, except for the lizard people in front of him blocking his view. She was headed straight for them. _Could she be what they're after?_ he wondered. Why? What was going on here?

He watched as the leader sprang into the lead, snapping a command at the army around him before they all charged ahead, roaring ferociously. He felt Lupa turn quickly down an intersecting street while the creatures followed closely behind.

They were definitely after her; there was no doubt about it. And it didn't look like they were going to do anything particularly pleasant to her, either. As he rounded the corner, he had almost caught up to them, so he surged forward and began attacking the rear lines with punches, kicks and spinning tackles.

A few of the dark, multicolored creatures squealed in pain as he attacked, and some of them tried to turn and face him with teeth and claws bared. But he was mostly ignored as they continued to press on down the street.

He pushed his way through the crowd, finding it a bit strange to take on things almost his own size rather than something bigger than him. But it wasn't their size that slowed him down; it was their rough, scaly hides and solid structure and strength. They were hard to knock down or even get past. And there were so many! He was surrounded by them on all sides, and they seemed to fill the entire street. He couldn't remember seeing that many earlier, maybe thirty at most, and there were at least twice that many now.

Suddenly, shrieks rang out from behind him and he turned to see creatures being flung through the air as a blue ball barreled through them. He immediately recognized it and shoved a larger lizard with four legs into its path. The ball drove into its side and sent it careening into two smaller creatures, which were flattened underneath it.

The ball bounced back after impact and uncurled into Sonic. "All right! Three more down!" he cheered as he straightened triumphantly.

"Don't celebrate just yet. There's a lot more where they came from," said Shadow as he continued pursuing the mob.

Sonic followed him. "Hey, wait up! So you're still hanging around here?"

He side-checked a creature hard before answering. "I told you, I can't leave. What's going on here?"

"Don't know," he answered before jumping up onto a reptile's shoulders. As it stumbled forward, Shadow slid beneath it and kicked up into its chin with bone-shattering force. Its head shot up, while Sonic was launched upward with the momentum beneath him. He fired himself into two of the creatures gliding above him, one after another, and slammed his feet down onto a third, driving it down to the ground. He jumped off just as it hit the pavement and flipped backwards before landing in a crouch. "But they're after Lupa," he finished explaining.

"I _know_!" grunted Shadow as he slammed into a creature that had reared up behind Sonic. He pushed off after the crowd with Sonic right behind him. "But what are they? And what do they want with her?"

Sonic jumped onto another reptile's back and leapfrogged over it, curling into a tight ball and shooting himself at another on right in front of it, laying it flat. "I think they're after her because of her powers."

Shadow leaped over his head and charged at another creature in a rapidly spinning ball, hitting it right in the face. He ricocheted off of it, sailing towards another one behind him. It turned to face him with bared teeth and he uncurled and flipped around, driving his foot into it head and flipping backwards again. "Her powers?" he repeated as he landed, turning quickly. "What powers?"

Before Sonic could answer, a deafening roar rang out ahead as a seemingly endless stream of the strange creatures poured into the street from the alleys and the tops of the surrounding buildings. They crowded the narrow space, making it even harder for the two hedgehogs to fight back, or even move.

"They're closing in on her!" Sonic called out over the snarling of the numerous lizards crammed around them. "We've got to… Agh! No! Hey!" They began to press in on him, forcing him back. Shadow was nowhere in sight. All he could see in any direction was scales, teeth, claws and a rainbow of brightly colored eyes.

A familiar determined roar rang out and a few of the creatures screamed in pain. As the ones around him turned toward the sound, Sonic took the opportunity to lunge forward and tackle the creature directly in front of him. As it went down, two more came up from behind it and leaped at him. Suddenly, Shadow came out of nowhere and rammed the one on the left hard enough to send it into the other one, taking them both down.

He landed briefly next to Sonic in a ready crouch. "Come on!" he snapped at him before jumping up over the heads of the stampeding mob in a black ball. Sonic did likewise, and the two of them began striking down at the crowd below them from the air. From their higher vantage point, they could see a flash of orange and white in front of the army, becoming closed in on all sides by the creatures at an intersection ahead.

"There she is!" called Sonic before he dove down and forcefully planted his feet into a six-legged lizard's head.

"How did there get to be so many?" wondered Shadow. "There must be well over three hundred of them now." He shot himself at three more of them in quick succession and flipped up high in the air.

Sonic glanced up quickly as he saw motion in the corner of his eye. "Shadow! Watch your back!" he called.

The black hedgehog tried to turn in the air, but a creature flying overhead swooped down and dug its claws into his exposed back. He yelled out in pain as his attacker began to force him back to the ground. Thinking fast, he reached up and grabbed it by the neck, flipped it over his head and threw it down onto the heads of the mob below, landing expertly atop the pile of wounded reptiles.

Up ahead, he saw a flash of light and he felt Lupa move. The massive crowd began to follow after her, turning down an intersecting street. Sonic suddenly jumped past him, moving ahead over the creatures' heads. "Cover me!" he called at him before curling up and bouncing at the lizards in rapid succession.

Glancing up, Shadow noticed the creatures that were gliding overhead were now swooping down at Sonic. He began to press forward when a six-legged reared up on its back two legs before him, roaring down at him from its impressive full height. He jumped up, dodged the claws it swiped at him and flipped up onto its head, avoiding the sharp teeth as it snapped at him. He pushed off of it and jumped for one of the gliders above him.

Grabbing it by its claws, he held on as it thrashed and tried to shake him off. He managed to flip around onto its back as it tried to regain some altitude. He grabbed the sides of its head reflexively and felt two thick flaps of scaly skin, almost like big, floppy ears. He jerked up on them and it let out a horrific screech as its head reared back from the sharp pull, bucking around in a frenzy and screaming relentlessly.

He twisted its head sharply to the left and it turned, slamming into another creature nearby. He smiled in smug satisfaction and, after straightening, steered it toward another ahead. Its piercing shriek alerted its ally to the attack and it dodged as he dove past.

He pulled up sharply on its ear-flaps. "Shut up and do as I say!" he snapped at it and dove at another one. It squawked as it collided with it, but then quieted down obediently. He rammed it into one after another, catching up to Sonic quickly.

They turned the corner and headed down the intersecting street. At the head of the immense crowd which now must have consisted of at least five or six hundred of the ferocious creatures, they could see Lupa struggling to stay ahead of them. She activated a Chaos Control and disappeared from view, and the mob turned down another road after her.

They continued on, taking out creature after creature, rounding the corner just in time to see a number of them go sailing through the air from one of Lupa's force fields. Then she vanished again, and they resumed their pursuit down yet another street.

"Of course." Shadow swooped down by Sonic as he bounced off a lizard. "Sonic! They're herding her to the square!" he told him.

"The square?" He remembered the open area from his earlier run. "She'll be out in the open! And if they block off the exits, she'll be trapped! C'mon!" he called as he bounced off another creature and surged ahead.

They quickly turned down the street and saw that they had almost caught up to the head of the mob, though it seemed to have gained more members every time they rounded a corner. They could see the square at the end of the street, appearing empty as it waited for the mysterious wolf.

_Fyoom_! A small, green ball of light suddenly rushed towards them at an incredible speed. Sonic barely managed to dodge it in time, and Shadow pulled up on the creature, letting it take the blow. It shrieked out in pain, then was cut off abruptly as it disintegrated beneath him. He instinctively jumped back before it completely disappeared and was immediately tackled from behind by another of the gliders. He curled into a ball as he sped towards the ground, knocked a four-legged creature flat and switched to the bouncing from creature to creature strategy that always served him so well.

They pressed forward, dodging blast after blast, finally breaking into the square, where the creatures had completely encircled a small area in the middle and cut off every exit. There stood Lupa, turning tensely and braced for an attack from any direction.

The two hedgehogs leaped over the creatures' heads, landing in front of them as they roared in protest, but stayed where they were. Lupa turned to face them briefly, then whirled around as a hush fell over the crowd and another lizard materialized behind her.

It was a little taller than her, and stood on two legs with its hands clasped behind its back calmly, obviously in charge of the reptilian army. Everything about it was sleek and lean: from its long, narrow snout, to its thin torso and lithe limbs, to its tail that draped down to the ground. It was dressed in a snug, blue, robe-like outfit that came down around its knees with sparkling crystal studs on its shoulders and chest, and a yellow sash lined with more gems wrapped in an X from its shoulders to its waist. It revealed its sharp teeth in a crocodile smile at Lupa, looking about as friendly and sincere as a serpent.

Lupa let out a shocked gasp and stepped back in horror as it appeared before her. It slowly and smoothly brought its hands out in front of it, holding one of their strange weapons and maintaining the dangerous smile effortlessly under a pair of bright, yellow eyes.

"Hello, princess," it said in a movie star velvety voice that was definitely male and fired the fired the weapon at point blank range.

Sonic was already moving. Just before the creature fired, he leaped at Lupa with his arms in front of him. "Look out!" he yelled and pushed her out of the way.

He felt the shot whiz past his feet, but it was the energy suddenly rushing through him that had his full attention. They hit the ground and they rolled a bit before quickly recovering and getting to their feet with orange energy sparks running over both of their bodies.

Lupa stared at the brightly-clad creature in horrified disbelief. "Slyss," she breathed hoarsely.

The ranks of reptiles in the square began to roar and scream in anger and began moving in toward them. The leader raised a hand calmly and they immediately stopped and went silent.

He smiled at Sonic in knowing amusement. "You shouldn't get involved in things that don't concern you, Mobian," he said as a green gem around his neck also began glowing as the others' had. "This is between us and her and what transpired six and a half millennia ago. We have no quarrel with you or anyone else. Please stand aside."

Sonic stood his ground next to Lupa. Shadow stepped over to them and told him plainly "We're already involved, whether we want to be or not."

"What do you want with her?" demanded Sonic.

"If you must know, we are here to apprehend a thief that took something quite valuable from us. Surely, you wouldn't stand in the way of justice?" asked the creature in his smooth, calm voice.

"Who, her?" wondered Sonic. "I think you've got the wrong wolf. She wouldn't steal anything."

The creature looked at him as if at a learning child. "How well do you think you know her?" he asked. "Were you there all those years ago? Did you spend year after year with her, learning everything about her, knowing exactly what she would do and how she would do it any situation? I think not." His gaze shifted toward Lupa with the same patronizing smile. "I believe I meet all of those criteria, don't I, Mitzika?"

She flinched. Then she stepped forward, flattening her ears aggressively. "Do _not_ call me that. I stole nothing from you. W-Why are you here? Y-you should be long d-dead," she told him, her aggressive tone dwindling to a nervous stutter as a few of the surrounding creatures hissed threateningly.

"So should you," he returned coolly, and she flinched again. "And I must admit, you're right, I shouldn't call you by your name. A cowardly, lying thief like yourself shouldn't even have a name, you worthless Lupa!" he finished in a sudden, loud bark. The crowd in the square voiced agreement in an overwhelming roar.

The three Mobians looked warily around at the mob surrounding them, but they stayed back. Lupa was hyperventilating, glancing around in a near-panic, stepping away from the leader.

Sonic looked at him boldly. "Who are you?" he demanded as the noise died down.

"Sonic!" Lupa suddenly hissed at him. "I told you to stay out of this! You too, Shadow. This does not concern you."

The leader of the strange reptilian army let out a throaty purring sound that seemed to serve the same purpose as a laugh. "That's right. Form allies by feeding them sob stories that are nothing more than lies created to induce sympathy upon those around you."

"No!" she blurted. "I have not lied to anybody!"

"Oh? Then I suppose you've told them everything, have you, Princess Mitzika?"

She flinched again and the two hedgehogs turned to her with confused frowns. "Princess…?" started Shadow.

"Mitzika?" finished Sonic.

She looked between them and backed away nervously. The creature purred again. "Withholding the truth is the same as lying," he informed her. Then he pointed his gun at her again. "Now, I've grown weary of this. You may have avoided us for all this time, but you knew this day would come. I hope you're prepared for it," he growled threateningly.

Sonic and Shadow stepped in between them and faced the creature boldly. One of his eyes twitched strangely as if he had raised an eyebrow, though he had no eyebrow to raise. "That's not a wise choice. Stand aside; we have no quarrel with you."

Sonic smiled challengingly back. "Maybe not, but if you mess with a friend of ours, you mess with us."

"There are two sides to every story," added Shadow. "Yours seems more than a little biased. If justice is really what you're after, shouldn't you at least hear what she has to say?"

His eyes narrowed. "Only if it was worth listening to," he returned as he took a step towards them. "If you stand with a thief, you will fall like one. Now, get out of our way or face the wrath of the Négriss army!" he ended in a roar that was backed up wholeheartedly by the surrounding crowd.

The hedgehogs glanced around cautiously, but didn't shift from their positions. Lupa came up behind them timidly. "Sonic, Shadow, please back down. You will only get hurt… or worse," she whispered urgently.

Sonic turned to her. "No way. We stood by you at the lab, we won't abandon you now."

"There's no way I'm backing down from these relics," said Shadow while keeping his eyes fixed on the leader ahead of him. "Him especially. There's something about him that really irks me."

The creature quieted the crowd down again. "Your decision?" he asked. "Rest assured we will leave this place as soon as we have her. If you cooperate, our departure will happen even faster, and you will remain unharmed. However, justice _will_ be served, and any resistance will be eliminated immediately."

The army growled ominously as he continued. "We would prefer to do this without bloodshed, but one way or another, we _will_ have her."

The mob pressed in closer and Lupa came in close behind her allies. "Please stand down," she begged earnestly. "You do not know what you are dealing with. Please."

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "You might find that we're harder to brush aside than you think," he said to the creatures' leader, ignoring Lupa.

"Bring it on, Scales," challenged Sonic with an eager grin.

He clasped his hand behind its back and shrugged. "As you wish."

With a deafening roar, the army immediately leaped upon them with claws, teeth and other weaponry bared. Lupa generated a force field around them, barely holding the monsters back. They squealed in frustration and beat against the wall with all they had.

She strained against their blows with clenched teeth. "Gnnh! _Now_ look at what you have done!" she snapped. "Why could you not let me be? Now we are all doomed!" A green ball of energy was fired at the orange shield. It hit solidly and Lupa cried out in pain. "Gaah! I… I cannot hold them off!"

"You don't have to," said Sonic. "You get out of here. We'll handle these guys; they're not as tough as they look."

"B-but I… uhnn!" she argued as another green orb hit the wall. "You do not understand! They are after _me_! If I leave you, they will keep enough of them here to keep you busy and send the rest after me, making your stand useless. You cannot win."

"Use the battle as a cover," said Shadow. "Get out of here while there's confusion all around. Though I don't see why you won't stand and fight. I know you can."

She looked at him, her bright, now orange eyes filled with despair. "One on one, yes. But not against their entire army when I am their only target," she explained before straining against another ball of green light that slammed into the force field. Cracks began spreading along the domed surface, causing her to whimper in pain.

"You'd better get a good head start, then," Sonic told her.

After a hesitant pause, she nodded and looked ahead with blazing eyes. She tensed in concentration and then pushed out with her shield. "Grr… Rraaaah!" she cried and the force field pushed back against the reptilian horde, sending a number of them sailing through the air.

The mob immediately closed in around them, but they were ready. Sonic and Shadow shot out at them in tightly curled balls while Lupa stayed low, charging at the creatures ahead of her head-on. They were quickly overcome, the massive mob hopelessly outnumbering the three defenders, but they continued to fight back with everything they had.

Shadow punched a lizard in the jaw hard, knocking several of its teeth loose as it reeled back with an agonized screech. Three more appeared in its place and leaped at him in quick succession. He dodged the first by crouching low to the ground, then jumped up at the second, head-butting it in what he presumed was its stomach, except it was _hard_, and sent it crashing back into the third behind it. They fell in a heap and, while he tried to catch a quick breath, the first one that he had dodged jumped onto his back and pinned him down with a triumphant hiss.

He tried to push up against it, but another bigger creature joined its comrade and forced him back down. Another quickly joined them, followed by another and another until at least a dozen of them pressed upon him, completely immobilizing him.

He could barely breathe under the crushing weight of the creatures, and moving was impossible. He could hear their growls and hisses all around him, their satisfaction unmistakable as they chattered to one another in their strange language.

He suddenly felt Lupa move, and realized that this distraction would be the only opportunity he would get. He strained against the monsters, refusing to let them beat him. His building frustration allowed the same energy he used for Chaos Control to increase inside of him, strengthening him as his resolve intensified.

He let the familiar energy course through him as he gasped for a final breath. He tensed with effort and slowly began to push up against the creatures. They clucked in surprise and confusion as their prey slowly rose up beneath them, growling low in exertion.

He suddenly burst out from them with a roar and they shot through the air, screaming in terror. Several more immediately jumped at him, but he fought back fiercely with incredibly fast movements.

He threw yet another one away from him with a frustrated grunt. "There's no end to these things!" he snapped loudly.

More lizards began climbing over their wounded allies and were about to pounce on him from all sides when Sonic appeared from the sidelines and rapidly spun around him several times, appearing to be nothing more than a blue blur. He moved so fast, he created a shock wave that threw several of them back. He suddenly launched himself out of the loop at the remaining creatures and they fell back from the impact.

He skidded to a stop near the edge of the ring of semi-conscious bodies that were piling up around him and let out a small, satisfied laugh. But a creature he had missed earlier suddenly jumped at him and swiped a claw at his face. He tried to pull back, but he was too late, and the sharp claws raked across his right cheek.

He staggered back and brought a hand to his face with a cry of pain. As the creature prepared to strike again, Shadow shot forward and kicked it back onto the pile of recovering lizards. He jumped back to stand next to Sonic, who was looking down at the blood staining his white gloves red.

"Ouch. These guys play rough," he said, looking up as the creatures began closing in around them again.

They stood back-to-back, facing the slowly advancing mob. "Then maybe it's time we picked up our game and showed these freaks just who they're dealing with," returned Shadow.

Sonic scanned the crowd for a glimpse of Lupa somewhere, but there were only the grays and browns of the reptiles as far as he could see. Then he felt her, somewhere in the distance, jerking away in bursts of Chaos Control. "Good. She got away," he sighed in relief. Then he smiled wryly and looked over his shoulder at Shadow. "Care to do the honors?" he asked.

Shadow smiled darkly. "I thought you'd never ask," he answered and let the energy flowing through him gather in his fist. It began to glow yellow with power and he lifted it and held it up in front of him. It let off a burst of light and he pulled it back quickly. "Chaos Spear!" he shouted, and threw his hand forward,

A beam of light shot out of his hand and breached a deep gap in the crowd of creatures. They squealed as they were thrown back from the blast or flattened under each other. The ones that had been creeping up from behind paused briefly in surprise then pounced on the hedgehogs all together. They were, however, far too slow.

They were already moving through the breach in the creatures' lines. They rolled forward quickly, moving fast enough to make small shock waves that kept back the other creatures. The farther in they pushed, though, the more creatures tried to block their path. They dodged them as they leaped at them from all sides. It wasn't too long before they were forced to straighten out, still running forward, but attacking as they went.

Just as they were about to break all the way through, two huge lizards jumped in front of them, each wielding a strange gun which they began to fire. The hedgehogs managed to dodge the balls of green light by switching places with each other, and then bounced up towards their heads, flipping around and driving their feet into the monsters' faces almost in perfect synchronization with each other.

The creatures fell over backwards and Sonic and Shadow leaped off of them and ran down the street before them. They were immediately perused by them, but looking back there only seemed to be a few dozen of them instead of the hundreds that had previously filled the square.

Sonic turned to Shadow. "We'd better lose these guys if we're gonna find Lupa," he told him.

He nodded, and they put on a burst of speed and began sprinting down the winding alleys of the city. They turned sharply from street to street, quickly losing their pursuers in the maze, all the while moving in closer towards the source of the strange energy.

Sonic glanced behind as they raced down another road. "Alright! Looks like we gave 'em the slip!" he cheered.

"Good. Now we can find Lupa," said Shadow. "I've got a few questions for her."

"Yeah. Me, too."

"Shadow!" a familiar voice suddenly called from above them. They both looked up and saw Rouge swooping down towards them from the roof of the tall buildings around them. She flew up alongside them and tried to keep up with them as they continued on. "What's going on here?" she asked them.

"We're trying to find out," answered Shadow. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm supposed to be keeping an eye on Lupa, to see if anything 'interesting' develops," she explained as she held up her fingers in quotation marks. "But when I got here, there were all these lizard people running around, creating havoc. The authorities are being completely held back by those things! What are they? And what do they want?"

"They're after Lupa," answered Sonic. "They know her, somehow, but it doesn't look like a happy reunion."

"Okay, but-" started Rouge, but a bright light suddenly lit up the sky above them. They all came to a stop and squinted up at it as it took the form of the leader of the creatures. He stood professionally with his hands clasped behind his back again and he looked down at the city below with the same expression of insincere friendliness.

"Habitants of this fine city," he began "Please accept our most sincere apologies for our intrusion, but rest assured that this is not an invasion. We are not here to harm anyone in any way."

"Who's that?" asked Rouge.

"I think he's their leader. Lupa seems to know him," answered Sonic.

The enlarged creature in the sky continued talking. "On the contrary, we are here to deliver you from something that threatens your security. There is a criminal in your midst that has committed heinous crimes against our people and must be brought to justice at all costs. If you wish to assist in the apprehension of this criminal, though your efforts would be most appreciated, it would be best if you stay out of our way until this is over. The culprit we are after is highly dangerous and will not hesitate to attack if threatened. Anyone who stands with this felon will also be considered a violator and will receive no mercy from us. Again, this is by no means an invasion, but rather justice being served."

The image in the sky vanished in a flash of blinding light and for a few seconds Sonic, Shadow and Rouge stared up at it to see if anything else would happen. Then Sonic frowned in disgust. "Justice being served? Yeah, right! Lupa's not a criminal."

"I doubt his validity, too, but why else would she withhold information from us?" questioned Shadow.

"You don't actually believe that guy, do you?"

"Of course not. I'm just wondering how much we can trust Lupa."

Sonic looked at him indecisively. Shadow had a point, but there had to be an explanation for Lupa's strange behavior. There was no way she was all the things that lizard guy had said she was.

"Let's find her first, and then we'll decide," said Rouge.

Sonic reluctantly nodded. "Right. Let's go."

They began to move in towards Lupa again, winding through the backstreets of Newtopia. It didn't take too long before they heard the creatures screaming in the distance. They followed the sound to a wide road crawling with them. At the far end they could see Lupa trying to fight them off with Tails and Amy behind her trying their best to help.

"There they are!" Sonic called and began charging through the scaly creatures in a spiky, spinning ball. Shadow followed after, but hung back slightly with Rouge. They soon made it through the crowd and began to beat the creatures back.

"Hey, guys! Glad you could make it!" Sonic called to his friends.

"Sonic!" Amy exclaimed with relief. "You're okay!"

Tails noticed the dried blood on his cheek and gasped softly. "What happened to your face?" he asked with concern.

He tackled a creature before answering. "Eh. Just a scratch," he dismissed coolly.

"I should have known you would follow me!" Lupa shouted at them. "Here. Protect your friends. I will draw the Négriss away!"

"Hold it!" called Sonic. "We're not going anywhere!"

"I think the least you owe us is an explanation," added Shadow as he punched at a monster that had come up behind Rouge.

Lupa kicked a creature hard, sending it over the heads of the others. "I… I know! But… _here_?" she asked.

"Hm. Good point," said Sonic. "C'mon, Shadow. Let's take these guys down!"

The two of them spun around the small group in a circle, opposite each other. They went faster and faster, creating a black-and-blue striped whirlwind that acted as a protective barrier around them. The creatures that didn't back up from the strong wind were thrown high into the air.

They soon slid to a stop inside the vortex and looked at Lupa expectantly. She nodded and gestured them all towards her. Everyone gathered around her and, just as the wind began to dissipate, she warped them all away in a flash of light.

They appeared a street over, a few feet above the ground. After dropping to the ground, Shadow glared at Lupa. "That's as far as you can go?" he asked in barely contained disgust.

She looked away with an ashamed expression, then up at the sky anxiously. They could hear the creatures in the other street on the move and coming closer. Sonic spotted a manhole cover and ran over to it. He tried to lift it up, and it slowly complied. Shadow stepped over, grabbed it and jerked it up on its side, revealing the sewers beneath.

Sonic stepped back and motioned to the others. "C'mon! This way!"

Shadow watched the clear, blue sky that had started to cloud over a bit for flying lizards as they disappeared down into the hole, one by one. Finally, Sonic jumped down after them and he followed, slamming the cover down on the entrance behind him with a resounding _clang!_

They stood in the dark, damp tunnels underground; the only light coming from a few dim bulbs overhead and a very faint glow off of Lupa's fur.

Rouge stared at her in surprise. "You're glowing," she said softly.

"Is that from…" started Tails but was cut off by the creatures running around on the road above them, growling amongst themselves.

"I guess we won't be leaving that way," stated Sonic.

"We should move," said Lupa. "They have lost us for now, but it will not be long before they look down here."

"We shouldn't even be down here," grumbled Shadow. "We should be up there, kicking those freaks straight back to whatever hole they crawled out of." He turned down the tunnel they were in and walked off in frustration.

"All those guys? I don't even think all of us could take down that crowd," said Rouge.

"Tails nodded. "She's right. We should think about what we're gonna do next."

"Yeah," agreed Sonic. He began to follow Shadow down the dark passage. "Hey, Shadow! Wait up!"

They wandered through the underground labyrinth, listening to the sound of reptilian feet pounding overhead. After a while, they found a small room off to the side, full of pipes and illuminated by a lone, flickering light bulb hanging high on the wall. They couldn't hear anything above them except drops of condensation dripping to the ground and echoing around them.

"We should be okay in here," said Tails.

Lupa looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds, then sighed. "For now."

"So, while we're here, maybe you could fill us in on what exactly is going on," suggested Shadow coldly.

"What are those things?" wondered Rouge.

"Why are they after you?" inquired Amy.

"How do they know you?" questioned Tails.

"Who are you?" asked Sonic.

Lupa met each of their gazes in turn, then sighed in defeat. "I… I'm sorry," she started quietly, using her first contraction of words. "I should not have hid it from you, but I... I was a fool, and what I fled from all those years ago has come back, as I knew it would, no matter how hard I hoped it would not."

She took a slow breath and looked Sonic square in the eye. "My true name is Mitzika Eltonia Waishe Luperna. My father was Tiberius Ronuda Coril Luperna the First, king of Tara-Luna."

Nearly everyone drew back in surprise. Even Shadow raised his eyebrows. "So, you're… a princess?" asked Amy, her face slowly spreading into an impressed smile.

She snorted angrily and gnashed her teeth. "My father may have been the king, but I was no princess," she told them bluntly.

"What do you mean?" wondered Tails.

She shook her head fiercely. "I-it is too much! We do not have time for this! They will be here soon!"

"Then you'd better get started," returned Shadow.

"B-but… I… how… I don't…" she sputtered desperately.

Sonic stepped toward her. "I know it's hard, but if you want us to help, you've gotta let us know what's going on," he told her gently. "This is gonna be the best time to tell us. You can do it."

She looked at him uncertainly. "But… where do I start?" she asked.

"How about at the beginning?" he suggested with an encouraging smile.

"The... beginning?" she repeated hesitantly. Then she sighed again. "Then I suppose it starts with the curse that has been in the family for as long as anyone can remember," she started in resignation. "In my family, there is at least one child born every generation with a terrible sickness that kills all but the strongest of us. I had been born with this curse, and was not strong enough to fight it. So they named me, gave me a funeral and left me in the wilderness to die."

"That's… harsh," commented Sonic.

She shrugged. "It was a harsher time. My father was a survivor of the sickness, so he was not very impressed that one of his children could not even fight it. They did not want the sickness to spread, either."

"But what does that have to do with what's happening now?" asked Shadow. "I thought time was of the essence."

She nodded and continued. "After this, a group of strangers found me, left to die alone. They saw that I would not be missed and took me in, knowing that I was going to die." She paused with a shudder. "They… performed experiments on me. They did many things to me, to learn as much as they could before I died. But I did not. The more they did to me, the stronger I became. They saw this, and decided to perform the supreme experiment. They had in their possession the eight _Brivka S'lyth_ and the _Y'altu, _and they had an idea that they believed would make them even more powerful."

"What're those?" asked Rouge.

"The _Brivka S'lyth _are the Stones of Power, or what you call the Chaos Emeralds, and the _Y'altu_ is the Master, or controller," explained Lupa.

"Eight? That can't be right," interrupted Shadow. "There are only seven Chaos Emeralds in existence."

"There _were_ eight," she informed him. "But their leader believed that if one was somehow put inside a body, it would grow stronger with it and grant great powers to the one to whom this was done. So he had one… broken down and put inside of me and it made me stronger. It was this stone, this emerald that made me look like this, and what gave me the strength to overcome the sickness. And it also became stronger. We… we became one, in a way."

She slowly spread her arms out, displaying her glowing body. "In this sense, I… I am the eighth Chaos Emerald."

There was a hushed pause after she had said this. "So that's why you glow," Amy finally said.

"But… this happened over six thousand years ago," argued Rouge. "How could they possibly do that, or even think to do something like that?"

"I do not know. They were the Négriss," she answered. Then she frowned slightly. "However... they once said they came from beyond the sky,"

"Beyond the sky…" mused Sonic. "Aliens?" he guessed, looking over at the others.

"With that kind of technology six thousand years ago? What can they possibly do now?" wondered Tails.

"And why'd they come back?" asked Shadow.

"Because their leader now was their leader then. His name is Slyss, and he is here to get the _Brivka_ back – all of them," explained Lupa.

"So, he wants the Chaos Emeralds, huh?" concluded Sonic with a challenging grin. "Well, he picked the wrong planet to mess with. He'll wish he never came here!"

"No," she said hastily. "Do not underestimate him like my father did. He will stop at nothing to get what he wants."

"But why is he so determined to get you back?" said Rouge.

"Because of all the effort he put into me. You see, he used me to meet the royal family. He told them that he had cured my disease, and gave them the _Brivka S'lyth_ as a present. They immediately set up an alliance, and the Négriss were given quarters at the palace for as long as they pleased."

"Well that sounds like a happy ending," said Tails.

She snorted. "That was only the beginning. Back then, everyone was brown or grey, so my color was… different. I also began to develop strange powers that no one else had. I became a… a freak, a-an outcast, a… _si'reetia_."

"A what?" asked Shadow.

"Something not nice," answered Sonic bluntly.

"Slyss convinced the king to allow him to exercise these powers and see what I was capable of. He learned of all of my powers and saw them as an opportunity to make the perfect warrior. He informed the king of his idea and was then appointed as my trainer. He taught me everything I know."

She looked away distantly. "Years passed. The land prospered from the energy of the _Brivka_. I became stronger and more skilled, but it was never enough. I was still nothing more than a freak, and no one would come near me except Neguuma and Rregnis."

Who were they?" asked Tails.

"They were Négriss, like Slyss, but… different," she answered with a soft smile. "Especially Neguuma. He was always so... _passionate_ about things. And he…" she trailed off, searching for the right words. "You see, one of my abilities only happens when I touch certain people. Neguuma was one of them. I learned his language, and he, in turn, gained something from me."

"Like with us," finished Sonic.

"What happens with you is different than what happened with the others. They would get… something from me, but I do not believe it ever hurt them. And it never hurt me. I do not know anything about your ability to track me, either. No one else could do that, not even Neguuma."

"That's weird," muttered Sonic. "Why are we so different?"

"Maybe it has something to do with your connection to the Chaos Emeralds," suggested Tails. "After all, she has one inside of her."

"That's nice, but we've gotten a bit off topic," interrupted Shadow. "You've told us who Slyss is, but what is he doing here? It's been over six thousand years."

"On the sixteenth anniversary of their arrival, the Négriss announced that they were returning back to where they came from. Slyss said they would take with them everything that belonged to them. Then a fight broke out because he assumed that included _me_."

She paused and shook her head. "That's where it all began. My father and Slyss argued for days over me, but I could not understand why. No one had ever wanted me before. Then Neguuma found me and told me that Slyss needed me for both my powers and my fighting ability to help him conquer the entire world. He explained everything to me; from the reason I had been kept alive to purpose of my training to his plan to take over everything. He and Rregnis tried to get me away to safety, but I knew what Slyss could and would do to my family, and I could not leave them."

She screwed her eyes shut. "Everything happened so fast. The Négriss gave up and left, but Neguuma and Rregnis suddenly returned and told us to leave immediately. I... I don't know how, but they had somehow gotten the _Brivka_ and the _Y'altu_ away from Slyss and told us that he was coming back to destroy us. While they got my family to safety, I stayed behind to see if I could hold them off. But there was no way."

She paused again, opening her eyes, now glistening with tears, and breathing hard. "There was… a light. It came down from the sky and… I tried to stop it, but… it destroyed everything!" she finished in a sob.

"I saw that!" Sonic shouted at the same time Shadow announced, "That's what I saw!" the two looked at each other in surprise, while everyone else stared at both of them.

"You saw it, too?" asked Sonic.

"Well if we both felt the energy in the same way, then it would make sense that we both experienced it similarly."

"But… how?" wondered Lupa, glancing from one to the other in disbelief. "How could you possibly… What did you see?"

They looked at each other again. "I saw the beam of light from the sky," started Sonic.

Shadow nodded. "There was an explosion."

"And a building collapsing."

"People were panicking and running for their lives."

"And there was fire and smoke everywhere."

"A city burning in the distance."

"At sunset."

"Two survivors running through the desert at night."

"And a pair of bright yellow eyes…"

"Slyss!" growled Shadow angrily. "I thought there was something shady about him!"

"And somebody was screaming," added Sonic, looking at Lupa. "Was that you?"

She frowned slightly. "…N-not until the very end. But you were right about the rest. I don't know how, but Neguuma saved me from the palace as it fell and we ran. More lights came from sky and destroyed the entire city. There was nothing we could do but watch as it fell. And… everybody was killed… because I was what Slyss wanted… and they paid the price for my cowardice."

She stared down at the ground, barely holding back tears. Then she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "We ran all night and met up with the others at dawn. We found a cave and tried to rest, but Slyss and his army caught up to us. Knowing we would never be able to outrun them, Neguuma and Rregnis gave the _Brivka_ and the _Y'altu_ to me, and they began to float around me. They also had brought a large device with them, and it seemed to react to their… our… energy. I could do nothing but watch first my brothers and then my father run out to meet their doom. Then Neguuma followed to buy us some time, but he was captured. Slyss entered our cave, killed my sister and mother, and would have killed me, but Rregnis... saved me, but lost his life in doing so. Then everything went dark."

She looked up at Sonic with black, sorrow-filled eyes. "Slyss lost the Chaos Emeralds, lost his experiment and his secret weapon, all in front of his army. He hates to lose anything, and he does not let things go. He planned everything about me down to the finest detail, and I ruined all his plans by escaping. He is here now to get back everything I took from him. Here is here… because of _me_."

The small, underground room was silent for a long moment, while everyone digested her story. At last, Amy broke the silence. "That's… horrible," she whispered.

"So the Chaos Emeralds are from space?" asked Sonic. "Whoa."

"But what happened to them after Slyss attacked you?" wondered Tails.

Lupa shrugged. "I thought he got them, but that does not seem to be the case."

"It was probably the same Chaos Control that sent her to Rubersia," guessed Rouge. "They must've scattered at the same time."

"That must be why Slyss thinks you're a thief," concluded Sonic.

"So what are you going to do now?" inquired Shadow. "In case you've forgotten, there's an army of aliens aboveground, searching for us."

"Right," said Sonic, turning to the group. "We've gotta do something. Shadow and I can take care of those aliens and give you guys a chance to get out of here."

"It's too late for that," said Lupa calmly.

"What?"

"I appreciate what you are doing, I truly do, but I cannot let you get hurt because of me."

"What are you talking abo-" started Shadow, but there was a loud _crash_ that same from somewhere nearby. Everyone jumped at the sudden noise, but Lupa dashed out of the room, toward it.

"Lupa! Wait!" Sonic called after her, then followed her with everyone else close behind.

She continued running toward the end of the dark corridor, glowing with energy. Just as she reached the wall at the end, it exploded, sending concrete chunks flying from the blast. Shielding herself, Lupa continued to run toward the smoking hole as everyone else hung back to avoid the large projectiles.

Sonic called out to her again, but she disappeared in to the cloud of smoke. They could hear Lupa grunt and creatures shriek in surprise and pain before going silent.

"She's moved!" Shadow announced, and they all ran toward the destroyed wall. They entered the hallway beyond and, through the smoke, saw several of the creatures lying in unconscious heaps scattered underneath a round manhole in the ceiling. A crowd of the aliens were running down the street above them, obviously in pursuit of a certain orange wolf.

Shadow immediately jumped up to the manhole, but was hit by a red blast from above. He crashed back down hard enough to make an indent in the solid concrete. Sonic ran over to him as he painfully got to his hands and knees, red lightning bolts running over his body. Glancing up, they could see three of the lizard people glaring down at them with bared teeth and charged weapons.

The smallest of them nodded down at them. "You were warned to keep out of our way. Since you won't listen to reason, you can stay down here until the criminal has been apprehended," it said.

Shadow recognized the alien as the same one that had shot him with the green lightning earlier and glared at it fiercely. "I'll bet you're not so tough by yourself," he growled challengingly as he got to his feet.

It flashed him a smug crocodile smile. "We've already proved that I'm tough enough to take you down, furball," it sneered cruelly.

Shadow stepped forward aggressively with a growl, but Sonic placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Forget him. We'll find another way out of here."

He glared at it for another second before shaking off Sonic's hand and turning back toward the hole in the wall. He led the group back the way they had come, while the creature's snake-like voice called to them, "I don't think you'll find that as easy as you think!"

They ran through the sewers, soon locating another manhole. "There's one!" Amy called when she saw it, but as they approached it a large, scaly head appeared in it and roared down at them ferociously. It was quite large and wore thick, brown armor with blue spikes on its shoulders, arms and down its back. It held what looked like a large mace studded with green crystals and glowing with some kind of energy. Beside it stood another creature wearing a simple, dull purple uniform and pointing a gun-like weapon down at the Mobians below.

They came to a stop and quickly jumped back from red and blue orbs of energy that were shot at them. Sonic noticed another tunnel off to the side that led somewhere else. "C'mon! This way!" he called to the others, and they followed him down the dark passageway.

"I can't believe we're trapped down here like a bunch of rats," muttered Shadow.

"They can't block all the exits," said Sonic. "We'll get back at them soon."

Around the next corner, there was another circular hole that led up to the street. They were greeted by a similar team of aliens that snarled down at them and fired a few warning shots to keep them back.

"Not here, too!" groaned Rouge as they all abruptly stopped again.

"They're everywhere!" cried Tails.

"I've had enough of this!" growled Shadow, and he quickly skated down another tunnel without waiting for anybody else.

"Shadow! Wait up!" Sonic called after him. He followed him through the tunnel, trying to catch up to him. "Where are you going? Shouldn't we stick together?"

Shadow slid to a sudden stop and glared at him. "You're slowing me down! I'm not playing these freaks' games anymore!" he snapped at him. "You can do what you want, but I'm not going to let them get the best of me!"

The others caught up and gathered around the two of them. "If you're leaving, I'm coming with you," said Rouge. "I'm not gonna let you face those things alone."

A residue of the red blast buzzed inside of him and he nodded in reluctant agreement. She was probably right.

"Good idea. We'll cover more ground this way," said Sonic. He looked ahead to where the tunnel branched off in two directions. "You take the right and we'll take the left. Someone's bound to find an exit somewhere."

Shadow grunted and ran on ahead with Rouge right behind him. "Good luck!" she called over her shoulder as they disappeared around the corner.

"C'mon, guys. Let's get out of here," said Sonic. The three friends turned down the other tunnel and began searching for another manhole.

"Do you think they'll be all right?" Tails asked Sonic.

"Who, those two? They'll be fine."

"We've gotta find Lupa," said Amy. "There's no way she could hold off all those things on her own."

Sonic nodded. "Don't worry. We'll find her."

They found another exit guarded by another terrifying twosome and ran past it down another passageway. About halfway down it, Amy stopped and leaned against the wall as she caught her breath. It didn't take long before the boys noticed and went back for her.

Sonic reached her first. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked her.

She nodded. "Oh, yeah. Sorry," she panted. "Just need… a little… breather." She looked back up at him apologetically. "Think we'll… find an exit soon?"

He looked at her and realized how hard she was trying to keep up with him and Tails. She knew she wasn't as fast as either of them, or able to run as long, but she was doing her best anyway. He had to give her credit for that.

He looked down the corridor for a second and smiled as an idea came to him. He met her gaze and grinned wryly at her. "As a matter of fact, I think we will," he told her before sprinting off down the corridor.

"Sonic! Wait!" Tails called after him. "That's the way we came!"

"I know!" he yelled back and kept going.

Tails and Amy exchanged a look before following after him at a much slower jog.

Sonic shot toward the previous manhole they had found and sprang up through it towards the larger creature wielding the mace in a tightly curled ball. He hit it in the chin and it reeled back, swinging its weapon wildly.

He bounced back from it as it fell backwards, dodging the shots that the smaller creature fired at him. He landed on the ground and began to roll around it in a circle, fast enough that he looked like a blue ring around it. It tried to shoot at him, but couldn't lock onto him, and he suddenly rammed into it from the side, sending it tumbling into the wall of one of the nearby buildings.

He looked around for another one, but there weren't any more around. "Huh. That was easy," he said with a satisfied smile.

He heard something behind him and turned around to see Tails flying Amy up onto the street. He stepped over to them as they landed and pointed off down a street.

"She's this way, guys. Let's g-_ack_!" He was suddenly hit in the side with a large, red ball of energy and went sailing across the street.

Tails and Amy both gasped in horror as they witnessed their friend being shot and whirled around to find the smaller creature getting to its feet while pointing its gun at them. It stepped toward them and snapped something in some dinosaur language, and the larger creature got up and began moving toward Sonic.

"Hey! Stop!" cried Amy. She ran after it, forgetting about the other one behind her.

"Amy, wait!" Tails called to her.

The lizard behind him snarled and aimed the weapon at her. Tails quickly grabbed at it, shoving it aside, and a red blast was fired at a window farther down the street. The creature glared at him with bright green eyes and snarled threateningly. His eyes widened as he stared back, but he refused to let go of the gun. They began a crazy tug-of-war over the weapon as the alien snapped at Tails while he held on tight.

Meanwhile, Amy had grabbed the larger creature's armor and was trying to pull it back. It kicked her away without looking down and continued its advance. She glared at it and reached for her secret weapon.

"Hey! I said _stop_!" she yelled at it, running toward it with her hammer raised above her head. With a growl of exertion, she brought it down as hard as she could on the creature's foot.

It grunted and turned to her with a glare. A yellow liquid was trickling from its mouth and down its light brown chin like blood, and it bared its teeth in a grotesque snarl. She stared wide-eyed up at the monster as it towered at least a foot above her head and held her hammer in front of her in a ready position. Its eyes narrowed and it raised its jewel-studded mace in a slow, intimidating motion.

She took a step back cautiously and then gripped her hammer tightly and charged straight at it. She swung it above her head, ready to bring it down again, but it caught it and lifted it into the air with her dangling from it.

"Aaaah! P-put me down! Lemme go!" she cried as she kicked wildly at air. It brought the mace close to her face and the gems began to glow and spark with energy. She watched the dazzling green light draw closer and closer and then closed her eyes in dread.

"Hey, ugly! Down here!" Sonic's voice suddenly came up from below. Amy and the creature both looked down to where he stood, casually looking up at them. "I don't have a lot of time to play with you, so let's make this quick," he said.

The lizard roared and brought the mace down at him. He easily dodged it, but it created green shock waves that spread out like ripples on the pavement. He jumped over them as they ran on under him. They reached Tails and the smaller alien as they continued fighting over the gun and knocked them both over, temporarily stopping their fight.

Amy shrieked as the creature suddenly jerked her up higher. It looked at her, then at Sonic, and then back at her with a hungry growl. Sonic ran up to it and slammed into its leg. "Hey! I'm down here!" he called to it, then to Amy, "You can let go, you know!"

It roared and smashed its mace down at him again. He dodged the subsequent shock waves, then jumped onto the mace and then up to the creature's face. He held on while it screeched in anger and whipped its head around trying to throw him off. It let go of Amy, who dropped to the ground with a panicked yelp and ducked to avoid the swinging mace as she ran to a safe distance.

It grabbed at Sonic and tried to pull him off of its face, but he refused to so much as loosen his grip. The creature held its mace high and was about to smack at him when a green orb shot through the air and disintegrated the weapon in an instant.

Both of them turned to the smaller creature, who was still struggling with Tails for possession of the gun. It suddenly pushed him down and pointed the weapon at Sonic.

Thinking quickly, he suddenly let go of the scaly face and, as it was still pulling at him, got pulled out of the way as the blast of green energy hit the spot where he had just been. The alien didn't even have time to scream as it vanished into a billion tiny particles.

He was flung back from the momentum of the sudden pull and landed in a braced crouch, facing the other alien. It pointed the gun at him again and he was prepared to dodge again, when a familiar yellow and red hammer came spinning through the air and landed squarely on its head. The gun went off and a green orb narrowly missed Sonic as the lizard keeled over and collapsed in an unconscious heap.

Sonic looked over at Amy. "Nice throw," he complimented her with a nod of approval.

She smiled back. "Thanks. You okay?" she asked him.

He grinned. "Never better. You?" She nodded. He turned to Tails. "How 'bout you, Tails?"

He picked up Amy's hammer. "Yeah, I think so. This thing is heavy!" he grunted as he stumbled under its weight.

She came over and took it from him with one hand. "It's all in all you hold it," she informed him, giving him a wink as she twirled it around effortlessly.

"Okay. Let's go help out Lupa," said Sonic, and they all followed after him as he homed in on her signal.

They ran down street after street, finally stopping in front of a tall building. They could see movement near the top, where there were aliens climbing up the walls, while others circled overhead like a flock of vultures.

"Up there?" asked Amy.

"Yeah. We'd better hurry," replied Sonic, looking around for a way up the tall building. Glancing down the adjacent alley, he noticed a bunch of clotheslines hung between the windows of the apartments farther down. "This way!" he announced, and led the way down the narrow alley.

A neatly stacked pile of crates off to one side provided a perfect boost up to the wires above, so he suddenly wrapped a secure arm around Amy's waist and pulled her in close as they approached. "Hold on," he told her and sprinted the last few feet toward the crates.

She smiled broadly and threw her arms around him obediently, laying her head on his shoulder. She loved it when he swept her off her feet.

He jumped up the boxes and sprang up toward the overhead clotheslines. Landing on a thin wire, he used its elasticity to shoot himself and Amy higher. He slowly ascended this way, bouncing higher and higher as clothes dropped off the lines and nearly hit Tails as he flew up behind them.

They soon reached the roof, prepared to fight the creatures that had crowded themselves onto the small space. As soon as he landed on the solid surface, he removed his arm from around Amy's waist and braced for combat. She reluctantly released him, too, wondering if he had enjoyed the way they had held each other as much as she had.

The roof was in complete chaos. Dozens of the aliens were moving around the open area and more were still climbing up the sides, all trying to move in toward the center, but not seeming to be making much progress. Roars, grunts and squeals were among the noises coming from the confusion, and bursts of brightly colored lights flashed randomly from various weapons in the mob. Every now and then, the three newcomers caught a glimpse of bright orange among the dull colors of the lizard army, and they thought they saw a black blur move within the crowd an instant before several of the creatures went flying back with agonized screams.

"Now this is what I call a party!" announced Sonic with a determined grin.

"Incoming!" Tails shouted, pointing up. The creatures gliding overhead had begun to dive down towards them in waves, and were ready to strike.

"C'mon!" yelled Sonic and, grabbing their wrists, yanked them in toward the mob of reptilian bodies ahead. They ducked as the claws of the flying lizards swiped at them from above, narrowly missing their heads, and charged into the swarm of aliens.

They were surrounded immediately, but Sonic struck back at the creatures that got too close. As they pressed forward into the snarling, hissing, screaming mass of aliens, more and more of them began to focus their attention on them. When they were at the point where they could no longer advance, several of the creatures were thrown aside by something and a gap briefly opened before them. They jumped through into a small, open space ringed by aliens on all sides where Lupa, Shadow and Rouge were trying to fight back the endless swarm.

Shadow slammed into a large lizard, sending it toppling backwards with a breathless grunt. "About time you showed up," he shot at them before jumping at the three aliens that had taken the big one's place.

They all joined in the attack, trying to push back the relentless army. Sonic and Shadow struck out at the advancing ring in rapidly spinning balls. Rouge and Amy covered each other as the bat lashed out with well-aimed kicks from her steel-toed boots and Amy swung her hammer around dangerously at anything that got near her. Tails also tried to help out by slamming into a few of the creatures that tried to break through.

Lupa was ruthless. Fighting in seemingly every direction at once, she attacked with sure, quick jabs that took down creature after creature without restraint. Her desperate fighting style seemed choreographed; every movement appearing rehearsed as if she had prepared her entire life for this one battle. She twisted limbs, snapped bones and bit into hard, scaly flesh with ferocious determination. When an orb of energy was fired in her direction, she would jump aside or twist in such a way that it would just miss her, all without once throwing off her deadly dance.

She also kept aware of the others fighting with her. When an alien was about to attack one of them, she would shout out a warning or knock either the alien or the Mobian aside with a surprisingly powerful shoulder check. She also stayed out of their way if they required room for an offensive counterattack.

They slowly pushed back the invaders, clearing out a larger space, but unable to do much more as every one they took down was immediately replaced by two or three more. They also had to constantly watch their backs as the gliders swooped relentlessly upon from the skies.

"They just… keep… coming!" grunted Sonic as he dove into three aliens, one after another, and jumped back as six more lunged at him with bared teeth.

Shadow charged into all of them at once, coming to a brief halt next to Sonic. "Then we'll just have to keep fighting!" he growled before dashing off for another part of the unsteady ring.

Tails went down with a pained cry and looked up at the lizard looming over him menacingly. Sonic immediately sprinted over and slammed into it, sending it flying. He quickly helped his friend up before any more aliens showed up.

"Take it easy. These guys mean business," he told him helpfully.

"Yeah. Thanks," he replied in relief, rubbing the side of his head painfully.

A creature suddenly appeared next to them, wielding a large mace. It swung it down at them, but was blocked by an orange shield that had suddenly appeared between them, along with Lupa. She pushed back with it, and the alien was knocked back with a squeal.

Before they could thank her, she quickly turned to face about six creatures that had appeared out of nowhere and leaped at her with claws extended. She went down underneath them and they all rolled over each other into the middle of the ring. Then the creatures all went flying back from another of her force fields and she got back up, orange blood dripping from various wounds from the battle, and the new dress Amy had bought from her torn and stained and in as bad if not worse shape as her first one had been.

As soon as the field went down, a creature overhead swooped down at Lupa with claws extended. She jumped up to meet it, twisted away from its claws and sank her teeth into its throat. It let out a horrific, gurgling cry as she pulled it down. As soon as she landed, she grabbed it and twisted its body in a sudden, harsh move that broke its neck with a resounding _snap_ and permanently silenced its cry.

She tossed the limp body aside and spat out yellow blood before looking over at the horrified faces of her allies. She wiped her mouth and looked away without a word.

Suddenly the sky went dark and the creatures paused in their advanced and hissed softly. Everyone looked around warily except Lupa, who looked straight up with a low gasp of dread.

Above them, a large, irregular shaped craft was shimmering into view and was hovering over them in intimidating silence. It was several different shades of gray with a few soft streaks of purple running through it, giving the appearance of a giant storm cloud. It was round, but aerodynamic, with rows of small, round windows all over it and different colored lights blinking at regular intervals along its hull.

"MOVE!" Lupa suddenly yelled and pushed out at them with another force field. They were thrown back to the line of waiting aliens from the wall of energy. They were quickly surrounded by them and had to keep attacking to keep them back.

They cleared a small opening and could see Lupa trying to fight off three other creatures dressed in longer, blue uniforms with sparkling jewels on their sleeves and collars. They were lunging at her from all sides, trying to keep her in between them. When she attacked one of them, it would jump back and another would come at her from behind.

"Lupa! Hang on!" Sonic called to her, but a number of cold, heavy hands on his shoulders pulled him back into the surrounding crowd. He tried to break free, but they held fast and dug their claws into his flesh. Looking around, he could see that everyone else was being restrained similarly, with two or three creatures pinning their arms behind their backs cruelly.

"Rrrrgh! _Unhand_ me!" Shadow commanded the six creatures holding him back. They had him almost completely immobilized, and though he struggled valiantly, he couldn't break free of their deathgrip.

Sonic heard Lupa gasp and turned to see the leader, Slyss, materialize in front of her again, gun in hand. She immediately put up a shield between him and her, but he didn't fire right away. The three aliens surrounding her suddenly pulled out guns concealed under the folds of their uniforms and simultaneously fired a red orb of energy at her from all sides. It was too much for her to hold back and she cried out and stumbled forward, sparking with red energy as her force field vanished. Slyss then shot off his weapon and a green ball of light of light engulfed her and caused her to dissolve into a billon pieces and vanish before their eyes.

"NOOO!" Sonic's cry was the most clearly heard above everyone else's, and he jerked himself free from the aliens' grasp and ran at Slyss. Before he could reach him, though, he turned around and ever so gracefully swung a long whip previously hidden up his long sleeve directly across the hedgehog's face.

He fell back hard and tumbled over himself from the harshness of the blow, but managed to get to a crouching position, facing the alien with a hateful glare. He looked at Sonic and simply said, "Your face is bleeding."

He brought a hand to his smarting cheek and felt a long gash that ran over the previous marks from another creature's claws. He slowly pulled his hand back and saw that his fingertips were once again tipped red with his own blood. He looked back up at Slyss and stood up boldly. "You're gonna regret that," he told him steadily.

One of the creatures behind Slyss stepped forward, but he held up a claw and it stopped. "Enough, Resh," he said calmly. Then he looked at Sonic. "I don't think I will, though you certainly seem stubbornly resolved to insist otherwise. Who are you, anyway?" he asked him.

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, and I'm not gonna let you get away with this!"

Slyss simply smirked. "Oh, really?" He turned to the creatures standing behind him. "We're finished here."

"Oh, no you're not!" yelled Sonic. He sprinted at Slyss and jumped at him in a flying tackle. He disappeared just as he reached him, though, and instead charged into the one called Resh. It blocked his charge with a well timed arm thrust, and he jumped at it again. It blocked every one of his attacks with impressive speed and finally threw him back again.

As he prepared to charge again, a red blast from another creature hit him in the side and he tumbled away with red lightning bolts racing over his skin.

"You were warned, Mobian," said the creature behind Resh who had fired the weapon. Looking up, Sonic recognized it as the one who had spoke to him in the forest.

"You're fortunate that you're getting off this easy," added Resh in a higher voice that almost sounded feminine.

"We must be going now," finished the third, a smaller lizard with black zebra stripes running along its limbs. It rattled a forked tongue against its teeth at them and shot a smug look at Shadow. With an enraged growl, he stomped down on a creature's foot and, in the following confusion, broke out of their restraining hold and charged straight at the familiar alien. It shimmered away into thin air just before he got to it, leaving nothing but air where it had stood a moment before.

"No! Wait!" Sonic called as he got to his feet. But all he could do was watch as the lizard people disappeared one by one, including the massive crowd all around them. Tails, Amy and Rouge stumbled forward as their captors released them and vanished after the others.

Everyone looked up at the large alien craft still floating above them. It stayed still for a few seconds, and then faded away into the clear, blue sky, leaving no sign of it ever being there.

"No! Come back!" he called again, though he knew there was absolutely no hope of them obeying this request.

Confused and dismayed looks were exchanged as the events of the last hour sunk in. How could things have gone so drastically wrong in so short a time? With Lupa and the aliens gone, and any trace of them taken with them, it seemed they had been dropped off at the end of a dead-end street.

_Now what are we supposed to do? _they silently asked the empty sky above them.

* * *

**A.N.:** Dun, dun, duuuuunnn! Another cliffhanger! Ha!

Eh, I don't like the way I worded that last paragraph. ;-_-

If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be more than glad to hear them. Then I'll change it and give a big thank-you and special mentions to whoever it was that suggested it. How about that? (That means you gotta review. Hint, hint. Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge.)

So now you all know the truth. Or do you? By the way, in case anyone was interested, her real name is pronounced:  
mit-SEE-kah  
el-TONE-ee-ah  
WHY-shee  
lu-PARE-nah.

Which is why I stick with writing Lupa. (LOO-pah) :P

Sonic sure seems to meet up with a lot of princesses, doesn't he? This would make Lupa his, what, fifth now? I guess that gives Sega and I something in common. Neither of us have any originality whatsoever!

And speaking of unoriginality, now it looks like Shadow's not the only one who has a dark, mysterious past... (but really, what other kinds of pasts are there? I mean, that people are actually interested in?)

On another note, does anyone think the battle was too drawn out? I wasn't really sure. What do you think?

Aaanyway, it'll probably be a while before the next chapter comes around. I warned ya, didn't I?

Until next time, Nora's signing off. Later!


	7. The Hunt is On

**A.N.: **Whew! I'm finally back. Sorry for taking so long, but I have returned to school and it has eaten away pretty much all of my free time. I told you not to expect any updates anytime soon! ;)

Anyways, there may be a slight change in my style of writing from here on because I have recently been reading the works of Taranea who is a magnificent writer, and I kinda sorta got influenced by her flavorful language and descriptiveness. So if things seem a little different in terms of detail, that's why. If you don't notice anything, that's fine, too.

And the same disclaimer still holds, Sonic belongs to SEGA, as does the universe he lives in, but Lupa, the aliens and any other obviously original characteristics of this story such as location names belong to me. Please keep your paws off. Thanks a miill. ;)

Now, without further ado... (Waves hand dramatically):

* * *

Chapter 6 – The Hunt is On

Sonic's legs buckled beneath him, and he sank to his knees and hung his head in despair. "No," he breathed, breaking the stunned silence that hung over the shocked group. Lupa was _gone_; Slyss had taken her from _right in front of them. _And they had just stood helplessly on the sidelines while their friend had disintegrated into nothingness.

Just like that, it was over.

"I can't believe… they're all gone," Amy whispered softly from behind him.

"I thought they just wanted to capture her, not…" Tails started, but trailed off as his throat closed up.

Shadow was looking off into the distance. "She's moving," he stated plainly. "Or, at least, her energy is. It's heading in that direction, fast." He nodded toward the west before frowning at Sonic. "Can't you feel it?"

He lifted his head and looked out in the indicated direction, frowning in concentration. Shadow was right: her energy was still present and calling to him with gentle urgency as it rapidly moved farther and farther away.

"...Yeah. I've got it now," he finally confirmed as he got to his feet. "Do you think she's… still alive?" he asked with a hesitant glance at Shadow.

The black hedgehog stared out thoughtfully in that direction for a few seconds before shrugging. "All I can feel is her energy. That could mean anything. If she is still alive, there's no way of knowing how long she'll stay that way," he answered.

"We've gotta go after her. There's no telling what they'll do to her."

"Whoa, now, hold on a minute," started Rouge. "We could barely hold them off this time. How are you gonna launch a rescue attempt against even more of them at their home field?"

He gently wiped the blood from his throbbing cheek. "Maybe we were a bit overwhelmed this time, but if we act fast, they'll be the ones taken by surprise. Lupa needs our help; we can't just abandon her."

"Yeah!" agreed Amy. "She's our friend! We've gotta help her!"

"I understand that, but those creatures don't mess around. They mean business, and I doubt it'll be very easy to catch them off guard," argued Rouge.

"Well we still have to try," said Sonic. "If what she said is true, then these guys could become a serious problem. We have to at least find out what they're up to, and the only way we're gonna do that is through her."

"Then could you hurry up and come to a decision?" asked Shadow harshly. "The longer we wait here, the farther away they get, and it's going to be rather difficult to follow them all the way back to their home planet."

"I think Rouge is right," offered Tails. "Those aliens are highly disciplined soldiers. I think we should rethink things and get a plan made before rushing in suddenly."

"We don't have time to plan!" snapped Shadow. He was fidgeting restlessly, which was not something he ever did under normal consequences. The ever-present demand to his sixth sense was becoming maddening, and every second they stalled on the rooftop made it even worse. "If we don't move now, we'll lose them! And I'm not letting those freaks get the best of me!"

His frustration was intensified as the smug expression of that black-striped alien burned in his memory. He turned to leave after the spaceship. "I don't know about you, but I'm not going to sit here while they get away. I'm going after them."

"Yeah. Good idea," agreed Sonic with a slow nod. "You go on ahead, while we go find some additional help."

"Who're we gonna find?" wondered Tails.

He grinned and winked at the golden furred fox. "There's a certain knucklehead I know that's pretty useful in a pinch. We know where he went, so it shouldn't be too hard to find him. Then we can meet up and begin the rescue. How's that for a plan?"

Rouge frowned. "I still don't know if that'll be enough. Look, I've got to go explain what's going on to G.U.N.. This isn't exactly a walk in the park, this is pretty serious stuff. If there's a possibility of an attack from these things, then I'm pretty sure I could get some back up without too much difficulty."

"No. We need the element of surprise," argued Sonic. "Too many of us will give away our position. We've handled worse on our own. We'll be fine."

"Okay," she complied uncertainly.

"In that case, I'm leaving," said Shadow. He was about to jump down off the roof when Rouge came up behind him.

"Wait. Take this," she said and handed him a small bracelet that had a black panel on it which reflected the sunlight like polished glass. "I'll catch up to you later. This'll help me find you."

He took it and looked it over doubtfully, recognizing the device as one used for tracking purposes. "Won't this also give away our position?" he asked skeptically.

"It's set on a very specific wavelength. They'd see you before they'd find it," she replied with a knowing smile and a wink.

He nodded and snapped it on his wrist. A yellow light began to blink periodically as it turned on. He glanced over at Sonic. "Don't be late. I'm not waiting around for you," he said and jumped out in the direction of the retreating aliens, vanishing in the concrete maze of streets and buildings.

"There he goes. We should head out, too," said Sonic. He turned to Tails. "How long before you can get the Tornado up and running?"

"Not long. It's been repairing all this time, so it should be almost ready by now."

"Okay. I've got a pretty good idea where to find Knuckles, so we'll cut through the Elder Woods. Once we find him, we'll go after Lupa. I'll go on ahead and you guys catch up. See ya!" He leaped off the roof onto another one below and then onto the road, which he followed north toward the horizon.

Tails and Amy exchanged a quick glance before heading for the airport, while Rouge went off to rendezvous with G.U.N.. The Tornado X-Z had been fully repaired as Tails had deduced and, after a few final minor adjustments, they set off after Sonic.

Before long, they were soaring high above the vast forest to the north, searching for any sign of their friend down below. They swept back and forth as they progressed, but found nothing that showed he had ever been there. All they could see was the peaceful, green color of the trees staring amiably up at the searchers as they flew high above them. With the warm sun shining down on their backs and the wind in their faces, they flew on until the heavily wooded rolling hills flattened out into a massive, grassy plain that stretched on for miles in every direction. A wind blew across it playfully, and the thick, emerald green grass shimmered in rippling waves wherever the wind stroked it.

"Wow. What a view," said Amy in an impressed voice. The brilliant green of the grass against the striking blue on the horizon was so picturesque that they almost forgot the troubling reason they had come here in the first place.

"Yeah," agreed Tails. "And you can see Station Square way over there, see?" He pointed out toward the east where the outskirts of a large city could be seen in the distance, the tops of its skyscrapers peeking over the horizon like a triumphant mountain range. The numerous adventures they had had there suddenly came to mind; the terrific battle against Perfect Chaos not the least impressive. It wasn't every day that a giant water-monster bent on turning all civilization into waterlogged rubble reared its gruesome head and began flooding the city in a furious rampage.

As the exciting times not too long ago came to mind, they both found themselves smiling fondly in the direction of Station Square. Now _that_ was one memorable city.

Amy was the first to return her gaze to the beautiful scene below. "Hey! There's Sonic!" she called as she spotted something small racing through the grass and outrunning the shining waves. Down on the grassy plain, moving away from the city on a northward course was the familiar blue streak that was their friend. Veering off after him, they swooped down and were soon flying alongside him as he sped on his way.

"Hey, guys!" he greeted them with a smile. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd gotten lost."

"Any sign of him yet?" asked Amy.

"Not yet. But I think I have an idea where to look. C'mon!"

He dashed off ahead and, with an exchanged glance of confusion, followed behind him, regaining a bit of altitude as they tried to keep up.

Up ahead loomed a national landmark that had earned quite a bit of attention in recent years from both tourists and the scientific community alike. It consisted of a scattered collection of large rocks that had been believed to have blown in from some massive storm about a hundred years ago. Some of them were decorated with intricate carvings and pictures, and others looked like parts of sculptures or buildings, carved into specific shapes and patterns for set purposes.

Geologists who had examined these rocks had found that they consisted of a unique molecular makeup that didn't seem to match up with any other rock type on the planet. Word had gotten out about this discovery and rumors had spread like wildfire about the whereabouts of their origin. Space and lost civilizations were among the most accepted beliefs, while some conspiracy theorists supposed they were really a secret government intelligence device or weapon that had yet to be tested.

Few suspected, and even less knew the truth: that they had fallen from the mysterious Angel Island when a tempestuous storm had trashed it as it floated overhead about a century ago. It had been such a ferocious gale, that it had knocked a number of rocks and part of the Master Emerald's shrine down to the ground, where they were discovered weeks later by some nearby farmers who naturally complained to someone about the stony eyesore.

As the three friends neared the famous spot, they noticed it was littered with scattered tourists taking pictures of the strange rocks or standing around the refreshment stands set up nearby for them. There was, however, no sign of the red echidna they were looking for anywhere.

Tails landed his plane and the three of them met up for a brief discussion. "Are you sure he's here?" Tails asked Sonic doubtfully.

"Unless he went all the way to Angel Island, which I don't think he did if he didn't have to," he replied.

"Huh?" questioned Amy. "But that's where he said he was going."

"True, but I think he would've stopped here first. Let's take a look around."

They split up and searched the entire area, scouring all around the scattered stones, looking into all the little shops distributed around here and there, and scanning the surrounding plain in all directions, all without any luck. They asked if anyone had seen him, but no one had, as if they could possibly miss a scarlet echidna who didn't exactly succeed at blending into a crowd. It was beginning to look like he had never been here at all.

When they met up again in front of the rocks, they circled them one last time before Sonic noticed a lone, short figure, obviously a Mobian, in a huge trench coat and a wide-brimmed hat with his arms folded acrosshis chest coolly. He was leaning on one of the larger boulders that had a few barely noticeable green streaks running along its surface, and the color of his clothing and his unmoving stance made him almost appear to be part of the stonework. It was obvious he didn't want to be noticed, and he actually seemed to be doing a decent job of it.

Trying hard not to laugh, Sonic stepped over and casually mimicked the person's position. "Kinda warm for a coat, isn't it?" he commented conversationally.

The person flinched and shuffled a bit under the folds of the ridiculously oversized outfit. Sonic thought he heard a low, frustrated growl – or was it a moan? – and decided with glee to press further.

"I mean, the only reason I'd wear a coat like that was if I was hiding from something."

"…Hiding?" a familiar voice repeated in what could have been misinterpreted as interest, if not for the defensive undertone it carried.

"Yeah, like from unwanted attention, or something. Actually, I know someone who'd take great lengths to avoid being seen here."

"Oh, really?" The voice had now dropped to a deadpan, but there was still a wary edge to it.

"Yeah, but he'd probably do something stupid like put on a lame disguise and think he was fooling everybody."

The cloaked figure flinched again, and then whirled on Sonic, bringing a large, spiked boxing glove up to the hedgehog's face and holding it mere inches from his amused, green eyes. "Well, I don't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas!" he snapped in outrage.

Sonic stared at him in mock surprise. "Knuckles? Is that you? I didn't even recognize you in that _subtle_ outfit."

A pair of amethyst eyes glared at him from under the massive hat. "Shut up," growled the echidna. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," he replied simply. "By the way, don't let me blow your cover, or anything."

The fist quickly disappeared under the large jacket, and he urgently glanced around to see if anyone had noticed him. The only ones who had were Tails and Amy, who were coming over to join them.

"There you are, Knuckles!" Tails greeted him. "What's with the outfit?"

Knuckles shot Sonic another glare, who held up a hand in defense. "Hey, I didn't say anything."

He heaved a sigh of frustration and, after taking another cautious look around, leaned back on the rock. "Not a lot of people know this, but these rocks fell from Angel Island about a hundred years ago," he explained. "Some of these stones were actually once part of the Master Emerald's shrine, and as such have a very close connection to the Master Emerald. Through them, I can check up on it without having to go all the way to the island. This is pretty secret stuff, though, and I'm trying to keep it that way. And I was doing okay until you blew my cover," he added in a growl with yet another glare at Sonic.

"Relax. Nobody's even noticed you," he assured him. "So, what'd you find out?"

He gently ran a large hand over the smooth face of the rock, tracing one of the very faint, green lines that softly glowed from his touch. "I'm not sure. Everything feels fine, but different, somehow," he told them with a frown. "I've been trying to get some more information, but I can only get basics from here. I think I should head back."

"Think it can wait?" asked Sonic.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"There's been some trouble," he answered.

"Lupa's been kidnapped" cried Tails.

"Or… or worse!" added Amy. "You've gotta help us get her back!"

"Lupa?" wondered Knuckles. "You mean that wolf girl that was with you? I was wondering what happened to her."

"So, are you gonna help us?" pressed Sonic.

"You mean you can't handle it yourself?" asked Knuckles as a smug smile slowly spread across his face. "Well, well, it looks like you've finally gotten in over your head this time. So, you've come to ask your good ol' pal Knuckles to pull you out, eh? This is great."

"This isn't a joke, Knuckles," said Sonic. "She could be in pretty deep trouble. We could be there by now, but we thought we could use your help. Are you coming, or not?"

He leaned back against the stone and folded his arms across his chest. "I dunno. I've got a duty, you know, unlike _some_ people. Something could be wrong with the Master Emerald." He paused in consideration. "Who's got her? If it's Eggman, forget it."

"A bunch of aliens showed up outta nowhere and nabbed her."

He stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head with a sigh. "If I'd heard that from anyone else, I woulda told 'em to take a hike. Couldn't you hold them off, though?"

"There were thousands of them," argued Tails.

"They just kept coming," added Amy.

"And they don't hold back," finished Sonic, and Knuckles noticed the not yet fully healed gashes across the right side of the hedgehog's face. They looked like they had come from a wild animal's claws, and were perhaps aiming a few inches higher when lightning-quick reflexes had pulled him away in time.

"But why would they want that wolf girl?" he asked.

"Something happened six thousand years ago between them," Sonic started to explain. "And now they've come back to finish whatever they started. And considering what they did to her family, it won't be anything good."

"Six thousand years is a pretty long time to hold a grudge."

"She has the eighth Chaos Emerald dissolved in her bloodstream."

Knuckles blinked. "The eighth… _What_?"

"I know it sounds weird, but six and a half thousand years ago, those aliens somehow took one of the Chaos Emeralds and put it inside of her. She tried to escape, but wound up getting sealed away in that hibernation chamber instead. Both her and the emerald inside of her were forgotten about by everyone but those aliens until now. Now that she's been released, they've come back to recover what they lost all those years ago."

Knuckles opened his mouth to argue, but Sonic continued. "And before you ask what it has to do with you, think about it. She has a Chaos Emerald inside of her. One that's closely connected to the other emeralds, including the Master Emerald. Imagine what will happen if the aliens get ahold of it. If you think they'll just stop there, think again."

Knuckles frowned and thought about it. "It's not like I'm completely ignoring the fact that she's in danger," he finally said.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure if she's still alive." Sonic's voice had suddenly dropped in volume and intensity, and carried a lot more weight to it. He sounded almost sullen, and his eyes had grown cold with grief for his friend and anger at both the creatures that had possibly murdered her, as well as at his own helplessness as he had been able to do nothing but watch it happen.

Knuckles regarded this sudden change in the usually cheerful hedgehog and knew that the situation was a lot more serious than he had initially thought. The fact that he had come looking for him when he knew he was returning to his Guardian duties almost spoke for itself, but the cold fury that now burned in the emerald eyes hit it home. His help was needed, and there was at least one life already at stake.

"I'm coming with you."

Three pairs of eyes lit up with hopefulness at this statement. "Really?" asked Tails.

He nodded. "This is obviously a big deal, or you wouldn't have come here. Besides, if they're after the emeralds, then the best way to protect them will be to take the fight to them." He held a clenched fist up in front of him and his eyes narrowed in determination. "If they think they can just take what they want from us, I'd like to see them try to get through _me_."

He began marching toward Tails's plane purposefully when Sonic, who had returned to a much more improved mood now that the powerful echidna had joined them, wryly suggested, "You might wanna lose the outfit, first."

He paused and looked down blankly at the long coat he was still wearing. "Oh. Yeah. Right."

In a few minutes they were flying west over the grassy plain, following Sonic as he ran on ahead, leading them towards what they hoped was Lupa's location. Tails and Amy began filling Knuckles in on what he had missed when he had suddenly left them in Newtopia.

He shook his head in disbelief when they had finally finished. "Leave it to you guys to get messed up in something like this," he said. He was casually stretched out in the back seat as he had been only two days earlier, the trench coat and hat left behind at the ruins.

He sighed and noticed that the wind that constantly blew through his dreadlocks smelled a lot drier and dustier than it had a few minutes earlier. He looked down at the ground far below to see where Sonic had led them. The plain had dried out and become hard and dusty with the only foliage being a few shrubs scattered here and there. Sonic, it seemed had led them into the harsh land of the Despairing Desert, which, he noted as he looked at the dry, cracked ground that stretched on far toward the horizon, was a perfectly accurate name for it.

All that could be seen of their blue friend was a large dust cloud that raced across the open space. The ground was slowly sloping downward, and in the distance massive cliffs began taking shape, forming a wall that stretched across the horizon like some natural barricade hiding something behind its rocky face.

"We're heading for the Neversame Canyon?" wondered Amy.

"Looks that way," answered Tails. "It's a smart place to hide. Even with modern navigational equipment it's still easy to get lost in the maze of cliffs and canyons. They say that you can never take the same path twice through it 'cause it changes when no one's looking."

"How mysterious," said Amy.

"How phony," muttered Knuckles. "They just say that to get the tourists to come in."

"Or maybe there's a germ of truth in it and there's actually something hidden deep inside its winding paths," returned Amy in a teasing, mysterious voice.

Violet eyes rolled sarcastically. "Right."

"Well right now Lupa and those aliens are hidden somewhere in there," said Tails. "And we've gotta find them before it's too late. Let's go!"

They soared high above the landmark as it slowly seemed to rise out of the ground. Down below, Sonic ran on between the cliffs and entered the natural labyrinth of sheer rock faces and winding paths. They stayed almost directly above him, careful not to lose him in the rocky maze.

After watching the blue hedgehog navigate the canyon with relative ease for a short time, Tails thought he caught sight of a flicker of motion in the corner of his eye. He looked out over the wide, chasm-stricken landscape but could find nothing out of the ordinary.

"Did you guys see something?" he asked the others.

"Like what?" asked Amy, shading her eyes as she, too, scanned the area.

"Like the cliffs moving," grunted Knuckles sardonically. "We'd better keep a sharp eye out so we don't lose the path."

They ignored him and resumed following their friend. Then it was Amy's turn to see something. "Huh? Did you see that?" she asked, pointing down at the cliffs ahead.

"Yeah, I think so. What do you think it is?" wondered Tails with nervous curiosity.

"Okay, enough with the jokes," said Knuckles. "Cliffs don't move, end of story, it isn't funny."

Amy turned to face him scornfully. "We're not kidding. There's something down there!"

"Look! There it is!" announced Tails. Down below, some large object was racing through the cliff maze toward Sonic at a dangerous velocity. It was down too low for them to see it clearly, but judging from the size of the dust cloud it was creating. it was clear it wasn't very friendly.

"Whoa… What is that thing?" wondered Knuckles as he stared down at it, all thoughts of moving cliffs totally abandoned.

"I… I dunno! I can't see it from here!" Tails called back.

"It's headed for Sonic! We've gotta warn him!" cried Amy.

"Hang on!"

"Whooooaaaa!"

Pushing forward on the joystick, Tails forced the Tornado X-Z into a nose dive down into the trench below. Sonic turned his head curiously as they approached but before any words could be exchanged, the thing that had been racing toward them suddenly burst out at them from an intersecting path ahead.

It was a massive, red and white vehicle that didn't slow down at all, but charged straight at them at full speed. It was built like a monster truck, with huge, black wheels with embedded spikes that tore up the hard, dry ground, and thick, metal armor plating that covered everything else. There seemed to be no spot for a driver, but that seemed perfectly reasonable as it was impossible for one, tiny person to possibly control something this humongous.

Sonic leaped out of its way and the Tornado rolled to the side as the enormous machine barreled past them. He swiftly turned to face it as the plane circled in the air above them, narrowly missing the rocky cliffs in its sharp u-turn.

The vehicle pulled a bootleg turn, narrowly missing the rock walls, and came to a stop, facing them with intimidating revs from its powerful engine. Then it began to change its shape, unfolding and stretching its components at it seemed to grow even bigger.

Its massive wheels disappeared underneath it and four long, thick, steel limbs took their places. It tipped backwards and slowly stood up on its new legs as parts on it belly continued to unfold and twist into their new positions. Finally, two huge, metal plates slid over its torso and connected in the middle with a resounding _ka-chunk_ and depicted an all-too-familiar crest on its finished surface

"Whoa! What's one of Eggman's robots doing here?" cried Tails as he tried to keep his plane from crashing into the stone walls.

A head that had appeared on its new shoulders activated red, glowing eyes that locked on the hedgehog and plane circling before it ominously. It rose to its full, formidable height and pointed its arm, which supported a large cannon, directly at Sonic. It began charging it with a piercing whine, forming a ball of light deep within the inner mechanism.

"I think he wants to play," answered Sonic with a cocky grin.

A huge blast of energy shot out of the robot's cannon from which Sonic hastily dove forward to dodge. It exploded when it hit the ground, and the resulting shock wave sent him tumbling forward and also rattled the Tornado as it struggled for height.

He rapidly recovered and began sprinting at the robot aggressively. "All right. We'll play for a little while, but then we've gotta go," he said, curling up into a spiny ball as he neared it.

Tails, meanwhile, had also regained control from the blast and surged ahead to assist Sonic. He pushed a few buttons on his control panel and suddenly swooped upwards at an almost vertical angle.

"Hold on, guys!" he called to the others behind him. "Initiating transformation sequence now!"

He went to work on the controls before him while the biplane began changing shape around them. It began to spin as the two sets of wings separated and angled away from each other, giving it a much more aerodynamic shape. The body stretched out and became sleeker, and a thick, glass shield slid into place above their heads. Two monitors folded out from compartments on the control panel and gave him various readouts of the Tornado's status. Finally, a burst of blue flame shot out of a newly formed engine in the back and thrust the plane, now in its attack mode, even higher into the air.

Pulling it out of its vertical spin, he began to dive straight back down towards the fight below. Sonic was literally running circles around the robot as it shot down at him with a number of machine guns imbedded in its arms.

Tails opened fire at it, trying to attract its attention as he swooped down over its head. It reached up with surprising speed and tried to knock the plane out of the sky, but he expertly dodged its attack and flew on behind it.

Returning its attention to the hedgehog below, it spun both of its legs around in a rapid circle, forcing Sonic to jump back to avoid being hit. Then it promptly turned around and, locking onto the Tornado, began shooting at it with it machine guns.

Sonic watched as the little plane frantically rolled and dove to escape the hail of bullets. He immediately charged at the steel giant, looking for a weak spot somewhere on its armored frame. He decided to take an educated guess from his years of experience of destroying massive killer robots and slammed into the back of its knee in a rapidly spinning ball.

With a pneumatic hiss, the damaged joint collapsed and the enormous mechanoid nearly fell over as it sank to one knee. It quickly rotated on its hips to face its attacker, but he was already running in between it legs. It tried to follow him and get a lock on him as it struggled to get back up, but he speedily dashed back behind it and fired himself at its other knee.

It fell forward in a heap and managed to get itself propped on its hands since its legs were useless from the knee down. It rolled over and again pointed its cannon at Sonic, who stood right in front of it with his arms folded casually.

"Sorry. Recess is over," he told it smugly and stood there as the Tornado swooped in behind him and fired a large missile at the robot's head. It landed a direct hit and detonated in a fiery ball as it slammed into the steel face. The mechanical fighter fell over backwards with a satisfying _**BOOM! **_that echoed around the massive canyon.

"Nice shot, Tails!" Sonic called up to the plane as it sped over his head."Now let's get out of here before Tinkertoy wakes up!"

He began to run off after the energy signal again, while the Tornado turned around in a loop and began following him again. Swooping low so that his plane almost dragged along the ground, Tails raised the glass shield so he could talk to his friend.

"Sonic! What do you think that was all about?" he called down to him.

"I dunno. Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah. The shields held up, but I'm not sure if we can take another hit like that."

Sonic looked over at the holes in the thick glass shield and along the plane's hull that bullets had punctured in the attack. It was riddled with them, having been caught directly in the robot's line of fire, but fortunately nothing seemed to be leaking from any of them.

"You might have to," he told the young pilot. "It's only gonna get worse from here."

"But why'd he attack us like that?" wondered Amy.

"'Cuz he's Eggman?" returned Knuckles.

"Maybe he thinks we still have Lupa with us," suggested Sonic. "He's after her energy, too, remember?"

Tails nodded. "Yeah. So I guess we should keep our eyes-"

"AAAAHH!" Amy's scream abruptly cut him off. High above them, the robot they had left behind had changed back into a vehicle and was diving straight down at them as it had just drove off the cliff high above them.

"Yow! How'd it get up there?" cried Knuckles.

"Who cares? Move!" shouted Sonic.

As it fell toward them, it began shooting, raining bullets down at them mercilessly. Sonic sprinted on ahead while Tails, being too low to roll, slammed on the air brakes and fell back out of range. The plane scraped along the ground for a few heart stopping seconds, then skillfully bounced back into the air, though he was now a good distance behind the main action ahead.

The vehicle had landed solidly and began doggedly pursuing Sonic without a moment's hesitation. It began shooting both forward and rearward, trying to hit its target while keeping the Tornado back. Sonic dodged the fired shots without too much difficulty, skipping back and forth evasively with quick, sudden movements that made it impossible for the vehicle to get a lock on him.

Spotting a tunnel that cut through the solid rock wall off to his left, he waited until he had almost passed it before abruptly turning down it into the darkness. The vehicle raced on ahead, seemingly oblivious to his sudden course change except that it had stopped shooting at him and focused its fire on the plane coming up behind it.

Tails rose higher in an attempt to get out of its range. He had to soar high above the Neversame Canyon before that point was attained, and though he wasn't able to give much assistance from the height, he was able to get a bird's-eye view of the action below.

Sonic had emerged from the tunnel and was continuing down the narrow path towards a large, open area that branched off in about ten different directions like a spider's web. The robot, several trenches away, turned down another passageway that ended up at the same intersection and began speeding toward it even faster than before.

"They're gonna meet up!" cried Amy. "Isn't there any way we can help him?"

"Every time I try, it shoots at us!" explained Tails. "I can't get close enough!"

"I can," said Knuckles, pushing up the glass dome. "Now it's my turn for some action."

"Knuckles! Wait!" Amy called to him, but he had already jumped out and was diving down head first toward the open space below, spinning like a drill with his fists held out in front of him.

"What is he _doing_?" cried Amy. "He'll be target practice!"

"I'll see if I can draw its fire! Hang on!" called Tails, and he dove down, passing Knuckles and altering his own angle to draw any attack from the reckless echidna.

Down in the canyon, Sonic entered the wide, open space and slid to a stop. He looked around, peering through the dust cloud that swirled around him for any sign of the robot or the Tornado, neither of which had followed him through the tunnel.

He whirled around at the deafening sound of an engine echoing around him. The humongous vehicle charged into the clearing from one of the side entrances and came straight at him with its guns firing. He ran at it head-on, in between the bullets, jumped up onto its fender and bounced up and over it, landing flawlessly behind it.

It turned around quickly, transforming as it did, becoming the mechanoid in a matter of seconds, sliding backwards in a ready crouch. Two guns on its shoulders began shooting up in the air, drawing Sonic's attention to the blue jet that was diving down towards them, rolling around in a series of desperate dodges as large bullets whizzed by it.

A loud _foom_ snapped his attention back to the robot, which had suddenly launched its open hand at him. He tried jumping back out of the way, but he was too late, and the metal fist closed around him, almost crushing him in its iron grip. The hand returned to its owner, and though he struggled valiantly, the hedgehog could only glare defiantly up at the robot's face as its glowing red eyes leered triumphantly back at him.

Then, behind the large head, he could see something small and red coming right at them in a spinning dive. He didn't even have time to recognize it as it smashed straight into the robot's neck, shearing through steel bolts and beams with the terrific momentum it had gained in its fall. The fist encompassing Sonic went completely limp, and he slipped out of it as the mechanical monstrosity collapsed once again before him. He jumped back from it and watched as the red projectile emerged from the writhing metal mass as Knuckles and came over to join him.

"Nice going. I thought you weren't going to make it," Sonic greeted him.

"Well I wasn't gonna let you have all the fun," the echidna returned, dusting off his hands as he spoke. He was amazingly unscathed, even though he had just dove several thousand feet and crashed into solid steel. "Besides, someone had to save your butt."

Sonic smirked, but kept his eyes on the robot. It was struggling to get upright while its left shoulder and neck sparked horribly from the damage it had taken. It turned its head, and its eyes locked on them and suddenly changed to a bright green as its body started to vibrate ominously.

"Er… Isn't green a good color?" Sonic asked cautiously.

"I dunno. Better keep your guard up in case it isn't."

They watched as the robot stabilized itself and began to glow with the same neon green as its eyes. It straightened to its full height and seemed to grow even larger as it steadily glowed brighter and vibrated more intensely with every passing second.

"Is it just me, or is it getting bigger?" Knuckles asked uncertainly, his voice sounding shaky as the ground trembled beneath his feet.

"I… I think it is," answered Sonic, his voice vibrating as well. Then his eyes widened and he suddenly pointed up at the robot's shoulder. "Look! It's recovering!"

The eerie, green glow seemed to be focused on the damaged joint, knitting back together the broken and twisted pieces of metal that Knuckles had violently ripped apart. They watched open-mouthed as layer after layer of wires and steel reunited together, giving off flashes of green light as each section finished. As the outer casing finally came back together and fused with a final burst of green light, the robot lifted both of its fully repaired arms above its head, let out an unnatural roar that sounded similar to two pieces of metal scraping against each other and brought its clenched fists down upon them with all the force it could muster.

They jumped back from the attack, but the massive shockwaves that followed were even worse than the vibrations before, and it took nearly all they had to stay upright as the ground rose and fell in waves beneath them.

The robot took this opportunity to aim it enormous cannon at them. It charged rapidly, glowing with the green light again, and was about to fire at them when the Tornado swooped down at it, right under the cannon arm, which caused it to jerk up and fire up at the rock wall surrounding them. Rocks began raining down into the battlefield, threatening to crush anything unfortunate enough to get caught underneath them be it robot or Mobain.

Sonic and Knuckles, having regained their footing, immediately began dodging the falling boulders while Tails orbited the mechanical soldier in tight, fast circles around the open space and began shooting at it tirelessly. It tried firing back, but couldn't get a lock on the speedy plane as it weaved through the rain of falling rocks.

After landing a few hits, Tails pulled up before risking a crash and, putting on a burst of speed, shot up into the sky. The robot immediately locked onto it and prepared to fire its arm cannon again, the green glow once again accelerating its charge time.

Knuckles used this distraction to climb up one of the fallen boulders that had landed nearby. Sonic immediately realized what he was doing and called out, "Aim for his knees! That's his weak point!" as he dashed around to its other side.

Though he showed no sign that he had heard the hedgehog, Knuckles launched himself at the massive leg before him and began digging his huge fists into the less protected knee joint.

The giant machine stumbled forward and its cannon fired a blast off into open space, its aim once again completely thrown off by the echidna attacking its leg. He hung on to it tightly, pummeling it with punches at every opportunity as it struggled for balance. Soon, however, the strange, green light returned and began repairing the joint as fast, if not faster, than he could tear it apart.

"Rrah!" he grunted as he tore off a sheet of metal that the green light immediately went to work on. "Stop _doing_ that!"

"Keep it up, Knuckles!" Sonic called up to him as he ran alongside the other leg, springing up to it repeatedly in an offensive ball of sharp spines.

Finally able to stand upright, the robot stopped and kicked backwards to loose the pest that clung to its leg. With a panicked yell, he was thrown off and onto Sonic, and they both tumbled over one another in a jumbled heap.

The robot whirled around and lashed out a metal foot at them. They scrambled to get out of its way, but they were much too late and the powerful kick sent them flying into the canyon wall. They bounced off in opposite directions, rolling around on the hard, dry ground with breathless moans of pain.

Sonic recovered first; just in time to see a gigantic metallic hand coming right for him. He managed to roll out of its range just before it reached him. It dug its fingers into the ground, then began retracting back into the main body, pulling up dirt and dust from the ground. He heard a deafening _thud_ and glanced over sharply as the other hand did likewise not far from where he crouched.

He watched as both of the robot's hands returned to it, the second looking like it held more than just dirt in its grip. It drew back that arm behind its head and he caught a glimpse of a familiar yellow shoe dangling from the metal hand before it threw its open palm into the stone wall with enough force to leave a hand-shaped indent.

"Knuckles!" Sonic called out as the steel giant retrieved its hand. But there was no reply from the crater in the wall. The robot turned toward him and stared down at him with its unblinking green eyes and he glared back.

"All right. This has gone on long enough! You're going down!" he yelled and began charging at it at full speed.

Instead of facing him like he expected, it looked up at the Tornado as it began diving down at it again with guns firing. It quickly countered by raising its own guns and pointing it at the plane.

"No!" Sonic cried and sprinted forward, not really planning where he was going to hit it, so long as he _hit_ it.

Then, without any warning, it pointed its guns down at him and opened fire. He barely managed to leap aside before he was kicked again and crashed into the cliff wall hard.

He tried to get back the wind that had been knocked out of him as he slowly got to his feet. He looked up in time to see the Tornado get hit by a hail of bullets as it tried to swoop away. The glass shield shattered and Tails rolled to the side to let the thick hull take the most of the hit.

But then the robot fired a much larger missile up at it, and Sonic could only watch as the massive impact sent the Tornado into a smoking, spiraling descent and threw Amy out into space.

His legs were moving before he heard her scream, his sole focus: her small, pink form rushing toward the ground. Time seemed to slow down as the adrenaline set in. She was falling, he was coming; that was the only thing he knew. He would get there in time if he just kept moving.

And then reality slammed into him in the form of a giant, steel hand.

It came down on him like a flyswatter on a fly. It very nearly knocked him unconscious, and it took him a few seconds to determine what exactly had hit him. It knocked every bit of air from his lungs, and he couldn't redraw another breath until the fist closed around him and again lifted him into the air. Even then, it was difficult to do so; his crushed frame making every breath agonizing.

"No… Amy," he managed to gasp as he weakly tried to wriggle free of the robot's clutches in vain.

Meanwhile, Knuckles had regained his senses and was stumbling out of the hole in the cliff when he heard Amy's scream. He stepped painfully over to the edge of the crater just in time to see Sonic get squashed like a bug.

"Sonic!" he called out, knowing it was useless. He could only wince sympathetically, knowing firsthand how painful that was. Then he immediately began looking around for the others.

In the other direction, he saw the Tornado; badly damaged and falling in an out-of-control spin, and between him and it was Amy plummeting to her doom.

He silently vowed he would never allow himself to be KO'd like that again, especially with Sonic around. He missed way too much.

Taking a sharp breath and wincing at the sharp pain afterwards, he muttered, "This is gonna hurt," and leaped out towards the falling hedgehog.

The rising air caught under his long, red dreadlocks, and he glided over to her, wrapping his arms around her protectively as he caught her and fell with her. Then, just as they reached the ground, he tumbled forward, minimizing the impact, and released her. They rolled along the firm ground before finally stopping, surprisingly intact despite their fall.

Amy slowly got up, realizing she was not a red and pink smear on the dusty ground and turned to her hero admiringly. "Oh, Sonic. You saved my… huh?" she gasped when she noticed she was speaking to a red echidna rather than her one and only blue hedgehog. "Knuckles? You're not Sonic!"

Although normally he would have shot back an unpleasant retort about her deductive skills, all he could manage was agonized grunts as his bruised ribs screamed at him and nearly cut off his breathing. He hugged himself with one arm and tried to get up with the other, but every motion stabbed as if he was being pressed into a bed of nails and he collapsed on the ground in a writhing heap.

Amy gasped when she saw how much trouble he was having and dashed over to him in alarm. "Omigosh! Are you okay? Say something!"

"I…I'll be fine," he grunted at her, trying once again to get to his feet.

"You sure? You don't look-" she started to say, but a crashing sound behind her made her jump, and she suddenly turned and watched the Tornado X-Z scrape along the ground and roll to a final stop near one of the walls.

"Tails!" she called out to him, but the instead of a response, the plane slowly tipped over and finally settled on its side with no sign of the fox.

_WHAM!_

Whirling around again to face this new noise, she saw that the robot had just thrown something into the wall, making another indent in it. She inhaled sharply when she saw it was Sonic and watched as he leaped back out at it fearlessly. The metal monster punched back at him with impossible speed, and slammed him back into the same crater.

She and Knuckles both watched in speechless horror as he fell limply to the ground far below and didn't get back up. But what really caught Amy's attention was the large rocks above him that had been loosened by the forceful impact.

"Oh, no… LOOK OUT!" she screamed at him.

He barely had time to look up before he disappeared under the rain of boulders.

"SONIC!" cried out three voices. They glanced back at the damaged plane and saw Tails running toward them, his fur filthy and singed in some places from the explosion, and his face and arms scratched up from all the broken glass and bruised from the crash. Overall, though, he seemed to be in one piece. He stopped when he reached them and they all silently watched the mechanoid as it dug through the rubble.

It found what it was looking for and pulled the blue hedgehog out with surprising care. It laid him in the palm of its other hand and silently watched as he slowly regained consciousness.

He groaned and half opened his eyes sluggishly. He let out a few painful grunts before mumbling, "Can't… f-feel… my…"

Then he managed to lift his head enough to see the fresh blood still seeping from innumerable wounds all over his body. His chest was covered in blood, and was sickeningly uneven. Continuing down his body in disbelieving shock, he stopped when he caught sight of the twisted, obviously broken limbs that stuck out at disturbing angles from his pelvis and were bleeding by far the most. He would have screamed in sheer horror had not his breath caught in his throat at the sight of his now useless legs, and he fell backward, finally gasping a harsh breath. He weakly coughed up blood with the last of his strength, and then collapsed in a motionless pile.

"NOOOOOO!" screamed Amy, and she rushed forward, drawing her hammer ferociously.

"No! Amy, wait!" Tails called after her, even though he knew it was pointless.

"PUT… HIM… DOWN!" she commanded the robot as she charged headlong toward it, blinded with tears of rage.

It didn't even turn around. Completely ignoring her, it activated thrusters in its feet and on its back that threw her flying backwards with a panicked shriek. Knuckles managed to catch her before she was thrown clear back to the cliff wall, and they all shielded their eyes against the dust billowing all around them and watched as the machine began to take off.

It went straight up, slowly at first, but accelerating as it climbed higher. As soon as it had cleared the cliffs, it let out a blinding, green light, and when it went out, the steel soldier had vanished.

"Oh, no," breathed Amy, shaking her head in shock and denial. "No... no, nonono… Sonic! SONIIIIC!" she called out to the empty sky, stepping forward desperately.

"What… what just happened?" Tails wondered, too shocked to accept the sudden change of events.

"Did we just… lose… to Eggman?" asked Knuckles in disbelief.

"Oh… Oh my gosh. We… we've gotta go after him!" insisted Amy, hyperventilating as panic began settling in. "We've gotta find him! He… he's hurt! You saw him, didn't you? He could be dying, or… or… already…" she trailed off on the verge of tears.

"Now don't you start crying on me!" shouted Knuckles. "This is Sonic we're talking about, he doesn't die that easily. Especially not from Eggman. Come on, now." He tried his best to sound strong, but his voice also trembled slightly. He, too, found it nearly impossible to accept what he had just witnessed.

"How could this have possibly happened?" continued Tails, his voice sounding dull, having gone numb with shock.

"I… I dunno. It doesn't matter right now." Knuckles, being the oldest, knew the two younger Mobians were now his responsibility and tried to act appropriately. "We've just gotta… keep moving."

"Where?" asked Tails, turning to him. His gaze was distant and almost void of emotion. "We're lost."

Looking around at the dozen or so different paths leading out of the open area they were in, Knuckles couldn't help agreeing with the fox. "Umm… isn't there a map or something in your plane?" he suggested.

"Map? Plane…?" Tails repeated blankly, blinking slowly. Then he suddenly snapped out of his stupor and gasped. "The Tornado!" he cried, and dashed over to the grounded craft.

There were bullet holes and dents all over the hull and wings, and there was nothing remaining of the think glass dome but a few shards scattered inside the cockpit. The monitors were cracked and offline, and there was a huge dent in the belly of the plane with liquids leaking and wires jutting out of cracks in the warped metal and sparking dangerously.

Tails took one look and groaned hopelessly.

"So, can you fix it?" Knuckles asked hopefully as he and Amy stepped over to him.

He looked over at them and could see that he had meant the question. Then he turned back to the crippled plane. "M-maybe," he mumbled before pulling out a toolbox stashed under one of the seats and began working on what repairs he could.

The others hovered around him anxiously, offering their assistance where they could, trying to distract themselves from the horror they had just witnessed. Knuckles shuffled around a bit during the short periods that he wasn't helping Tails, and Amy would anxiously look up at the sky for any possible sign of the robot or Sonic.

Then, after a few minutes of this, a shadow passed and a soft humming sound came from somewhere above them. Glancing up alertly, they watched a sleek, black silhouette slowly circle down towards them. It was small but long, and had two attachments sticking out from its sides in the shape of a bat's wings.

As it came steadily lower, they could see a tall, thin steering column and finally, its rider, Rouge. She smiled down at them from behind a very fancy pair of sunglasses and waved a hand that had a few more bracelets than usual dangling from it.

Tails and Amy immediately relaxed when they saw it was only her. Knuckles, on the other hand, clenched his jaw and fists instinctively. If there was one thing that set his senses into 'red-alert' mode, it was that sneaky bat. It was no secret that the spy more often than not moonlighted as a thief, usually in the 'shiny rock' category, and she had been know to take special interest in particularly powerful ones that kept islands airborne. There was no way he could ever relax whenever she was around.

Her scooter-like vehicle hovered above the ground as she pulled it to a stop in front of them. "Hi. I saw a bright light over here and thought I'd investigate," she informed them.

She took off her sunglasses and, frowning in confusion, looked around at the boulder-stricken battlefield. "What happened? It looks like a bomb went off." She noticed Knuckles's bruised body and drew in a breath with a wince. "And you look like you've been hit by a train," she added.

He shrugged painfully, unclenching his fists slightly. "Close enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked before taking another look around the clearing. "And where's Sonic? I thought he was with you."

The three battle weary friends exchanged a look before any of them answered. "…He... he's gone," Amy finally said, her voice shaking with barely held back tears.

"Gone?"

"One of Eggman's robots showed up and attacked us," explained Tails, a set of pliers in his hand. It began to tremble as he was forced to recall the results of the horrific battle. "We tried to fight back, but it… it was too strong, and it beat us and… took off with Sonic."

"What? That doesn't make any sense," argued Rouge. "Why would he do that? How could he even do that?"

Tails looked down sadly, his shoulders now trembling slightly. "He was beaten up pretty badly. Th-there was a lot of b-blood. I… I d-don't know if he…" He hung his head despairingly, trying his best not to sob in despair.

"Stop it!" snapped Amy suddenly. "Don't talk like that! He… He's alive, he has to be! We've just gotta find him!"

"Whoa, calm down!" interrupted Rouge. "This is serious. Why haven't you gone after him yet?"

"The robot vanished without a trace," added Tails, wiping his eyes that were threatening to spill over with tears before reaching for a set of wire cutters.

"In a flash of light. You saw it, didn't you? Did you see which way it went?" Amy asked urgently.

The bat shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I just followed it here. I'm sorry." She cocked her head and frowned at them. "So what are you doing now?"

"Trying to get the plane fixed," answered Knuckles. He looked down at Tails as he fiddled with a number of different colored wires. "How close are you to being done, anyway?" he asked him.

"I think I've just about…" he muttered as he cut off the end of a yellow wire and hooked it up to another one. Some of the lights on the control panel came on and one of the monitors flickered dimly. The other stayed blank.

He gave a shaky sigh of relief. "She lives, albeit barely."

"Looks like it could use a boost," noticed Rouge. "Mind if I lend a hand? My ride here can jump start anything short of a rocket."

"Sure. But take it easy; it's been through a lot today."

They hooked up a cable between the two machines and after a few seconds, the Tornado was humming back to life. As Tails did a few more repairs, Rouge turned to the others. "So, where're you headed?" she asked them.

"Uhh… well, I guess we could circle around for a bit and see if we can find a way through here," suggested Knuckles, trying to sound helpful.

"We've gotta find Sonic!" insisted Amy. "He was really badly hurt, and we need him to find Lupa!"

"Oh, yeah. Lupa. Her, too."

"How could you forget about her? She's the reason we came here in the first place, remember?"

"You know, Sonic's not the only one who can find her," Rouge reminded them. "Shadow's tracking her down now, and we were supposed to meet up with him anyway. That was the plan, right?"

"But what about Sonic?" cried Amy. "We can't just leave him!"

"Yeah. Why can't we go after Eggman?" wondered Knuckles. "It's not like he'll be hard to find. He's about as subtle as a train wreck. On a boat."

"Maybe so, but he's got a few new tricks up his sleeve," said Tails as he slid a final metal cover back into place. "Like that weird, green light that allowed it to repair itself and increased its power. We're gonna need more help if we have to face that again. Besides, Lupa might be able to help us find him."

"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound like a good idea," Knuckles slowly agreed. "Besides, he could stand to learn a bit of patience."

"You're one to talk," muttered Rouge.

"What was that, bat girl?"

Amy sighed reluctantly. "I… I guess you're right. Besides, he'd want us to find Lupa first before coming after him."

Rouge smiled and nodded. "It's settled, then," she said as she slipped her sunglasses back on. She stood there for a few seconds, fiddling with the frames, before nodding again and stepping onto her hover scooter. "This way," she said, pointing down a nearby path. "I'll lead the way."

"How do you know where to go all of a sudden?" Knuckles asked suspiciously.

She smiled knowingly and tapped the stylish accessory. "These aren't just a fashion statement, you know," she replied smugly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Spy sunglasses? I shoulda guessed. What else do they do?"

"I'm afraid that's inside information only."

"And we're outside? We're working with you, aren't we?"

"They're in. It's just you that's out."

"Or really? And why's that?"

She powered up the scooter and sped away, quickly disappearing around the corner. "Well in order to be in intelligence, you have to actually have some," she called over her shoulder at him as she zipped down the path.

"WHAT?" he roared back, instantly regretting it as his sore ribs loudly complained. Then he jumped into the plane and pointed down the passageway. "After her!" he commanded Tails.

Tails tried his best not to laugh at the red coloring that had crept into his friend's cheeks, his emotions still unstable. "Yes sir!" he answered back, waiting until Amy had seated herself before heading out.

The light tone they tried to portray didn't last long, though. Silence quickly overtook them and they refused to make eye contact as there was no telling what they would see in the other's lost gaze. They followed their guide through the winding gorges of the Neversame Canyon, wondering, though they never voiced their thoughts aloud, what had become of their friend, and hoping against hope that they weren't already too late.

* * *

**A.N.:** Boy, this chapter was even more ominous than the last one. BWAHAHAHAHA! DIE, SONIC, DIE!

...I don't have violent tendencies, honest... ^_^;

Btw, I know that the Tornado's jet form looks a lot (cough-exact-ripoff-cough) like his plane in Sonic X, but I don't really consider anything that involves Chris Thorndyke to have really happened. So, it's not really the same plane, but it is. Be quiet, my creativity died. :(

And, yes, I realize that the robot had strikingly similar qualities to a Transformer, and I apologize if anyone feels that I stole the idea, but I didn't mean it that way. I only realized this after I had written this all the way, and I figured, "Oh, come on. Who's gonna notice, really?"

Sigh. -_-;

Oh yeah. thank to the Nostalgia Critic for the train-wreck-boat-subtlety comment. I don't know where he got it, but I got it from him.

And, again I'm afraid it's gonna be a while before the next update. I hate school. DX

Don't forget to R&R! It makes me happy! Pretty please?

Nora


	8. Everything Burns

**A.N.: **Whew! Finally back! Did ya miss me?

... - _lone cricket chirps softly in the background._ - ...

...I see.

Well, anyway, I'm still kinda, sorta following Taranea's style of writing, and this chapter is actually a kind of experiment to see how it works out. I personally think it's an improvement from where I started, but then, what does my opinion mean? I mean, this is my first story (thus the OC), so I'm not expecting it to be Tolkein or anything. I'm glad there's a couple of you out there enjoying it, though. I'll try to write another someday without any OC's getting in the way once I get the hang of this writing bit.

Btw, the Chapter Title is the title of a song by Anastacia. I figured it fit the situation. And I'm still not taking any credit for Sonic and co, or anything about the series, 'cuz they belong to SEGA. Lupa and the aliens... that's another story. They're mine. Dibs.

So, after Sonic got the tar beat out of him by Megtron's evil twin brother (I am so sorry! He wasn't supposed to be a Transformer! DX), it would seem that it was the end of our blue hero. Or, at least, the end of his running days. And everybody got depressed, boo hoo.

But was it? Of course not! This is a Sonic fanfic, what the heck do you think?

So, fire up the oven, folks, it's about to get hot!

* * *

Chapter 7 – Everything Burns

_Breathe in…_

The first thing Sonic noticed was the pain. It was concentrated right behind his forehead, but it coursed its way over every inch of his body, replacing the nothingness that had been there moments before. It persistently pounded against his skull, slowly pulling him towards consciousness.

_Breathe out…_

His breath came out as a soft moan as the pain became a steady throbbing all over. Every bit of his body ached like he couldn't remember it had before. He shifted his head slightly in an attempt to somehow ease it, but the motion made it even more painful, and he winced until it calmed back down to a slightly more reasonable pounding.

He slowly became aware of his position: on his back on a solid, flat surface. He felt warmth on his front, especially on his face. It was gentle and somewhat familiar, like an old friend. The sun perhaps?

_Open your eyes._

He struggled against leaden eyelids, succeeding in nearly blinding himself as a dazzling light met his unprepared eyes. He screwed his eyes shut and, with a groan, managed to roll his head away from the painful glare. The motion sent new waves of agony to his already pulsating head, and he lay in that position, taking deep, heavy breaths for several seconds until the spinning sensation faded away.

_Try again._

He cautiously cracked open one eye at a time, staring at the ground while they gradually adjusted to the harsh light. As he slowly looked up, he noticed the flat surface he was lying on stretched on as far as he could see under a brilliant, blue sky. The sun shone mercilessly down on him, unshielded by any cloud cover. The ground around him was hard and dry, riddled with cracks from lack of moisture, and he lay alone in this wide, open space without even a breath of wind to cool him.

_Where.. am I? _he silently asked the empty landscape around him, hating to sound so clichéd, but unable to formulate any other question. It looked vaguely familiar, but he was too disoriented to remember, and the steady pounding in his head made it even harder to think.

_Get up._

He could feel his arms at his sides, palms down on the flat ground. He tried to lift his head, but was immediately struck flat by a sudden wave of dizziness that almost knocked him back out. He remained still for a short time while his head cleared, and he glared up at the cloudless sky.

_Get. Up._

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and pushed up again. He slowly managed to get to a sitting position and hung his head, taking deep, satisfied breaths as he savoured this small victory. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so exhausted and sluggish. It was as if all of his energy had been completely drained and he was only just beginning to recover it now.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself looking at his legs.

His _legs_.

His breath caught in his throat and he sat frozen as memories rushed back to him. The canyon. The robot. The punch.

The rocks. The pain. The _blood._

His breath returned in short, panicked gasps. He remained rooted to the spot, staring down at the apparently healed limbs. They looked perfectly sound, like they always had. But how? Had he dreamed it all? A faint scar that ran up the length of each leg proved this impossible. Then how long had he been out for? Had he, like Lupa, been somehow frozen in time until he healed? Was he dreaming now? Was he _dead?_

He closed his eyes again and tried to calm himself with a deep sigh. He had to think about this rationally. If he was dead, his head wouldn't be throbbing. He was pretty sure he was awake, and how could he have possibly been frozen in time?

He opened his eyes with a set thought: it didn't matter how his legs had been fixed, so long as they worked.

He remembered that they hadn't hurt when he had sat up. In fact, he hadn't felt them at all. _Maybe I'm… paralyzed,_ he guessed, the horrible thought sending icy shivers of dread down his spine. He carefully shifted his weight to his right side. No pain, but he felt the motion. Skeptically, he lifted a hand and gently touched his left leg.

Nothing.

He pressed harder. He could feel the pressure, but still no pain. He traced the scar as far as he could, pressing into it firmly.

No pain.

_They're fine. Stand up._

With exaggerated care and slow, cautious movements, he carefully got to his feet. He swayed unsteadily at first, but soon recovered his balance and took a few steps to reassure himself of their stability. They were just fine.

_All right. Now where am I?_

He looked around at the strange landscape before him. The flat, dry ground stretched out in every direction, and a rock wall marked the horizon far in the distance off to his right. In every other direction, the flat ground stretched, uninterrupted by rocks, plants or anything else for that matter.

He was completely alone.

"Guys?" he tried calling out, but his dry throat only managed a hoarse croak. He cleared it and tried again. "Tails? Knuckles! Am-"

He cut himself off as his last memory of her flashed before his eyes. Falling. Screaming. Himself running in to save her, but getting himself flattened instead.

As he stood there with a frozen expression of horror, other memories clicked into place. Tails's plane getting shot and spinning out of control. Knuckles getting thrown into the canyon wall. The giant robot moving in to finish the job.

_Had it? Were they…_

_No! If I survived, then so could they!_

"Tails! Knuckles! Amyyyy!" he called out to the empty desert around him, taking a few steps forward. "Where are you guys?" But not even an echo answered him. He did a 360-degree turn, searching for even a sign of them. But he was completely alone.

"The cliffs," he abruptly decided. That was where it had all happened. Any clues as to his friends' location would be there. He started off for them, quickly accelerating to a sprint across the flat, dusty ground. _I'm coming, guys. Hang on._

As he ran, his thinking became clearer. He began questioning his strange awakening. _How did I get way over here? Where __is_ _here? And why am I alone?_

He went over the incident in the canyon again and again and tried to connect it to his present situation. _What happened to the robot? Where are Tails, Knuckles and Amy? And my legs…_ "It doesn't add up," he muttered to himself.

He kept glancing over his shoulder as he pressed on. He couldn't help feeling watched, even though he knew he was all alone. Even the wildlife had deserted this wasteland.

He looked back up at the pale, blue sky, as devoid of life as the ground below. "Not even any vultures," he noticed, frowning suspiciously. The sun didn't look right, either. It looked like it was in the same place it had been in the canyon. But hadn't he been out for hours?

_Maybe it's just me,_ he thought unconvincingly. After all, he had been hit pretty hard, and he had been lying out in the sun for some time now. He probably still wasn't functioning at a hundred percent. He sighed deeply through his nose to clear his mind further.

And skidded to an immediate halt.

The dust he had kicked up swirled around him in a dirty brown cloud. He was breathing hard again, but not from fatigue. The air smelled stale, there was no wind at all and the ground didn't even _feel_ right, now that he thought about it. He looked around once again, only to see no change at all in the landscape. He had been running for some time now, and yet the cliffs ahead were no closer than they had been when he started.

"This can't be right," he said quietly. He looked at the ground around him with perplexed caution. The environment was too calm, too smooth, too perfect. If there was one thing Sonic the Hedgehog knew it was how running out in the open felt, and this was not it.

"It isn't… natural," he concluded. "This isn't real."

He looked up at the flawless blue sky. "This isn't real," he said louder. His quills prickled and he whirled around as the feeling of being watched returned. He clenched his fists and shouted up at his invisible observers, "Who's out there? Show yourselves! I'm not playing your game anymore!"

At first, nothing happened. Who could be out there? Eggman? He waited bracingly for something to happen; a rain of missiles, perhaps, or maybe that robot again. Or possibly Robotnik himself, ready to gloat about his triumphant victory over his enemy, no doubt, and coming in to finish him off.

But nothing like that happened. Instead, as he watched with diligent caution, the sky above him seemed to shimmer in a ripple effect that spread down to the ground until every thing around him quivered unsteadily. He felt tingly as the world around him vibrated intensely, and then instantly dissolved into billions of tiny particles that began swirling around him. He was unable to move, completely paralyzed as the ground disappeared and he fell into a black void.

As he stared in frozen surprise, unable even to cry out, the particles dancing around him began forming different surroundings. A light room began taking shape, its smooth, beige walls matching the floors and ceiling. They vibrated into place, and then stabilized, releasing him from his immobilized state.

He gasped a breath that he had previously unable to draw as he stumbled into his new surroundings. He looked around quickly, but the room was as empty as the desert had been. And even creepier.

_Now where am I?_ he wondered cautiously. _What's going on?_

"I must congratulate you, Sonic the Hedgehog," said a familiar, velvety smooth voice that sent cold shivers down his spine. He whirled around, trying to find its source, but it seemed to come from all around him. "You figured it out much faster than we anticipated. And you recovered exceptionally fast as well," it continued. "This will be a most interesting session."

A screen appeared on one of the walls and Sonic could see dark forms moving around a dimly lit room, their luminous, milticolored eyes watching with hungry interest. But his attention was focused on the figure closest to him; his sleek, scaly body clad in a strange sort of jumpsuit that seemed to be his uniform, royal blue in color and sparkling with hundreds of tiny gemstones. It had tight sleeves that came down to his elbows and a navy blue cape-like mantle set on his shoulders that swirled around him like a trench coat and gave him an ominously majestic appearance. Jagged, yellow streaks in the cape gave the impression of the material having been torn apart by vicious, terrible claws and then mended in that hideous mustard shade of yellow that seemed to be connected to them in so many ways.

Above the intimidating attire was a long, narrow head, almost serpentine, with a long mouth full of dagger-like teeth that ran almost the entire length of his skull. They were bared slightly, and turned upward in a knowing, patronizing smile directed at the hedgehog before him. And, worst of all, his whiteless, vivid, yellow eyes were glistening with amused interest as he watched every movement his opponent made with all the friendliness of a tyrannosaurus rex.

Another, taller creature stood beside him with bright, blue eyes. It stared at Sonic with a cold, but otherwise unreadable expression. The gaze reminded him of Shadow when he was in deep thought, the kind of calculating look that made you wonder if he was going to simply ignore you or kill you. Thin, yellow streaks ran along its arms and face in a wild, primitive design, and it wore a dull, red uniform void of the crystals that the others had been decorated with. That, combined with the icy, almost emotionless stare, gave it a mysterious appearance that Sonic would have taken closer notice of were it not for the alien in the foreground with the amused smirk and the shiny, golden eyes.

"You," he growled, narrowing his eyes to slits.

"Yes, me," he replied, bowing in mock respect. A flash of light from another of those green crystals that the important aliens all seemed to wear accompanied every word. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I am Coruna Slyss, acting leader of the Négriss. And you already told me your name, Sonic."

"I know who you are, Slyss. Lupa told me all about you. What have you done with her? And where are my friends?"

"Now, now, one thing at a time. Though I think you should be more concerned with yourself than with your friends."

"Where are they?"

The alien shrugged. "If you mean those colorful creatures with you in the city, I haven't seen them since."

"Liar. I don't believe you."

"Your choice." His expression became thoughtful, though the amusement never left his eyes. "Intriguing. You seem so concerned about what has happened to your companions, and yet you don't even know where _you_ are."

"We could fix that if you told me."

Slyss blinked calmly, as if in consideration. "I suppose you are entitled to that, though it won't do you any good. Right now, you are situated in one of our observation rooms, which is where we oversee the performance of all of our projects," he explained coolly.

Sonic visibly bristled at being called a project. "All right. And where's that?" he asked icily from between clenched teeth.

"In a high-security pod from which we may observe this planet without arousing suspicion or interference. You might call it a base of operations for all intensive purposes."

"So… am I… in space?"

"It shouldn't make any difference to you where this is. However, I will say that the only way you can leave this place is if we let you leave. And I'm afraid that won't happen for some time."

"No? And why's that?"

Slyss purred a small laugh from his throat. "Isn't it obvious, Sonic? I was certain that even you could see something as simple as that."

He paused and held Sonic's glare calmly. Then he cocked his head to one side silghtly as it seemed it wasn't quite as obvious to Sonic as he implied. "I suppose first and foremost would be your insistence on repeatedly being an obstacle to our cause. You have displayed stubborn resolve to keep us from succeeding despite several warnings. All of your attempts have failed thus far, but I can see that, unless action is soon taken, you will become a major problem, slowly becoming more successful as our mission is unceasingly prolonged. You must be stopped, of course, before this can happen."

A cocky smirk spread across the hedgehog's face. He was a threat to these creatures; they knew he could beat them. They feared him.

"So the simplest solution was to kill you," continued Slyss in a relaxed tone, as if he were indulged in a conversation about the weather. "An easily accomplished task that would permanently remove the obstacle you presented. And we would have done so, had it not been for an interesting occurrence in the city."

The creature looked down and slowly swept a clawed hand over a panel in front of him. One of the walls of the plain, beige room became a television screen on which a familiar scene began to unfold.

Lupa appeared, staring at what was apparently the camera in horrified shock and Slyss's hand holding a small weapon appeared in the bottom of the screen. "Hello, princess," came the alien's smooth, slimy voice, but Sonic's cry of, "Look out!" interrupted from somewhere off screen and he suddenly appeared on the scene and slammed into the horrified wolf just as the weapon was fired.

The camera followed slowly as they tumbled to the ground and rolled to a stop. The picture froze just as they were getting to their feet, the orange sparks dancing all over them illuminated and highlighted by diagrams and alien hieroglyphs.

"Your little stunt here piqued my interest at the time, but I let it be as more pressing matters demanded my attention," continued Slyss. "However, I found it most interesting how quickly you were able to locate her, as well as how determined you were to keep her from us. Your black twin seemed to display similar qualities, as well. And I would have dismissed it as a trait of your species, were it not for this."

The highlighted sparks on the screen became enlarged and came off the wall, floating in the air as the screen behind slowly vanished and became the beige wall again. Sonic backed up slightly as diagrams and graphs branched off of them again, labeled in more of the aliens' language, a series of scribbles and swirls that made even less sense than crop circles to him.

Sonic stared at in all in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"These sparks are actually a discharge of a high-energy reaction in your body, apparently caused by physical contact with Mitzika, since I assume this is an unusual occurrence with you. I concluded that there was an obvious connection between the two of you, specifically with the energy she possesses. This was confirmed when you began to pursue us with a definite direction in mind. But why?"

He spread his claws over the panel again, and the floating hologram of the sparks split up into two separate ones and twisted into two DNA models, one colored blue and the other orange. Again, the graphs and labels appeared, highlighting parts of the diagram as they slowly began rotating and revolving around each other.

"We found you, left for dead in the desert. Many of us wanted to leave you or finish the job, as that was the original plan. However, I had a hypothesis I needed to test, and the results I wanted required you to be alive. So I had you brought here, where you could recover fully, and thereby saved you from a gruesome demise."

"Thanks," grunted Sonic ungratefully, unconsciously scratching the itching scabs on his cheek. As if these creatures really cared about his well-being.

"In the process I combined the genetic material in your blood with Mitzika's for a very satisfying result."

The DNA models moved together and began to wrap around each other, becoming a single, intertwined strand. More diagrams popped up all over the place in a number of vibrant colors as the model began to glow with a harsh light that stung Sonic's eyes. The graphs began to fill up and jump with data rapidly, while the model rotated faster and shone dazzlingly.

Sylss was speaking again. "This is slowed down of course, as the reaction was instantaneous. But, as you can see, this was a most intriguing development."

The model paused in its rotation and suddenly zoomed in on a segment of the floating strand. It showed a number of small, orange particles attaching themselves to a blue strand, causing it to light up briefly. Sonic thought he saw it turn a brilliant gold for an instant when a cloud of them had landed on it, but another graph appeared and danced erratically in front of him, blocking his view.

"Do you know what those orange particles are, Sonic?" asked Slyss.

"They're the dissolved pieces of the Chaos Emeralds inside of her," he answered, turning to the reptile. It was hard to see him through the mass of holograms of graphs and diagrams that were floating and spinning all around him, but the brilliant, yellow eyes were impossible to miss. "Aren't they?"

He nodded. "Very good, Sonic. You seem to have a close connection to them, and to the other emeralds as well, don't you?"

Sonic glared at him. He'd heard enough. "What are you getting at, Slyss?" he demanded.

"This was a small-scale test that provided theoretic data for me," the alien answered calmly as the holograms around his prisoner dissolved as quickly as they had appeared and leaving no indication that they had been there at all. "You are here so that I can see what really happens when you interact with Mitzika."

"What have you done with her?" growled Sonic, his fists and teeth clenched in barely contained anger. "Where is she?"

He blinked and cocked his head to one side. "Right behind you."

As he said this, Sonic suddenly felt Lupa appear close behind him. He immediately whirled around and saw her materialize in the back of the room.

She was suspended in the air, though the only things that seemed to be holding her up were thin, silver hoops that glowed with some mysterious kind of energy and weren't touching her at all, but instead hovered around her wrists, ankles, waist and forehead by some unknown force. She was dressed in a dark, tight-fitting outfit that spread out at her waist into a loose skirt that reached down to just above her knees. It had several shades of grey swirling through it, with purple stripes differentiating each shade from the others, almost looking like some bizarre camouflage for a storm cloud. Her arms were held slightly out from her sides, and her head was held up straight, but her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly open, as if suspended in some deep sleep.

"Lupa!" Sonic called out and began to run toward her. However, she showed no sign of even hearing him. Was she even _alive_? "Are you okay? Can you hear me? Wake u-_aaaaagh_!" He suddenly felt his legs lock and a stabbing pain shoot through them, and he fell flat on his face. He tried to get back up, but every time he moved his legs, the severe pain would return and burn like fire.

"Ah-ah-aah. Not so fast," chided Slyss. The screen moved around from behind him to the wall on his right. "We wouldn't want you doing anything rash now, would we?"

Sonic glared up at the screen. He noticed that the other aliens in the dark room had gathered around Slyss and were staring into the observation room curiously with their colorful, glowing eyes like tourists at an exhibit at a zoo right before the animal was forced to do a trick. The one closest of all was shifting nervously with barely contained apprehension, and though it also watched closely, its light blue eyes didn't share the eagerness of its comrades. It was watching Lupa, he noticed, with a very different kind of intensity, but one that he couldn't place.

"What're you doing?" he snapped at Slyss. He tried to stand again, but every movement felt like a million knives stabbing into his bones. "Aaargh… W-what do you want?"

"Answers. Just like you," the lizard replied. He looked down at the panel before him and spread his six-clawed hands over it like a pianist. "Let's get this show on the road, as you say, shall we?"

Tint crystals embedded in the silver loops around Lupa blinked rapidly for a moment before a ring of light passed through them from her ankles to her head, leaving tiny lightning bolts and sparks of yellow energy that danced over her body as they passed. She suddenly gasped and her eyes flew open, then she cried out and tried to struggle free. But the silver loops held her securely in place and, though they weren't touching her, all she could do was grasp the air uselessly and jerk her ankles around in pointless circles. Even her tail seemed strangely limited, only managing a few irregular twitches as it drooped limply behind her.

"Lupa!" Sonic called up to her. "Hang on!"

She stared down at him, barely able to do so with the ring floating around her forehead preventing any kind of motion. Her eyes were glowing orange and filled with wild panic and pain. "S-Sonic! What–_Aaaagh_!" she cried as another ring of energy rushed up her body. "Nnnngh! W-what are you _doing_ here?"

"He's helping us to perform a scientific experiment," explained Slyss coolly, his voice making her freeze. "As are you. Your apparent connection is most intriguing. I'm quite curious as to how exactly it works."

"No!" she yelped, cringing through another energy rush through the loops. She tried to glare at him, but she couldn't even turn her head. "N-n-never! I will not let you…" she growled through clenched teeth.

"I know. However, you don't have a say in that."

"Slyss! L-leave him out of this, please!" she pleaded, desperately grasping for mercy in Slyss that was not there. "Rrrgh! Y-you can have me, just… just let him go, he should not become a part of this!"

"Oh, but he already is. You've made sure of that already, haven't you?" he returned coolly. Then he looked down again at the instruments before him. "Now, enough of this idle chit-chat. Science waits for no one." His claws hovered over the panel and Lupa shrieked as her arms jerked up and stretched out in front of her, seeming to reach for Sonic. More energy surges raced along her limbs and seemed to gather at her frantically wiggling fingers.

"_Gaaaah_! N-n-no! Stop! Please!" she begged, still straining against her bonds in vain.

"Leave her alone, you coward!" Sonic snapped at Slyss. He was still immobilized on the ground and he felt a tingle all over from Lupa's energy, but he wasn't going down quietly.

The alien raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "A coward, you say? Perhaps, but I am not the one in the observation room, begging for mercy," he replied with a shrug.

"Who's begging?"

"You will be once this gets underway." He returned to his controls and more energy gathered around Lupa's hands, shining brightly between them in a bright, orange orb. It grew larger and larger, and she both physically and vocally protested against it to no avail.

Finally she yelled out, "Sonic! R-r-run!" and the orb let out a final, dazzling light that hurt to look at. Sonic braced himself, glancing between the brilliant light and the insane alien with more uncertainty than he ever remembered experiencing before.

"Begin," said Slyss, and the wolf screamed as a massive beam of energy shot out of the orb straight at Sonic and engulfed him in an orange storm.

He wasn't concerned about his legs anymore. He wasn't even worried about Slyss. All he could think about when the blast of energy hit him was the searing agony burning through every vein and artery of his body.

He _screamed._

He vaguely remembered the other times he had touched Lupa, but they were relief compared to this. Fire burned him inside and out, and seemed to distort everything in and around him, all the way down to his molecular makeup. His sense of direction had completely deserted him; for all he knew he could have been at the bottom of the sea, or in the farthest reaches of space. He couldn't feel anything solid underneath him. He couldn't even tell if he was moving.

It took nearly all of his concentration to stop screaming and open his eyes to see what was going on. All he could see, though, was orange. It swirled around him, whatever "it" was, and clung to his skin in a billion tiny, burning sparks. He couldn't see Lupa at all through the dense cloud of energy. Holograms of graphs and diagrams floated all around him as he spun wildly through the air, some getting swept away by the tumult, highlighting parts of him like one of the models earlier. However, he noticed that he was no longer his usual blue, but rather a glowing, golden color that he immediately recognized, pain or no pain.

He had turned Super. He had absorbed the chaotic energy around him and changed into his Super form. But he didn't _feel_ Super at all. Though the incredible amount of energy was familiarly intense and felt almost natural, it didn't make him feel any stronger. All he could feel was pain, pain, _pain._

"_GYAAAAAAAHRRRRRR!_" he screamed again as the pain suddenly intensified. He heard his own voice crack, jumping up to a crazy falsetto before dropping to a primitive roar. He felt himself change; his bones bending and snapping sickeningly as they grew within his flesh, his skin stretching to cover the new large body it clung to, his face twisting into some gruesome snarl, complete with sharp fangs. It felt almost exactly like the time Robotnik had stolen his Super energy and converted it into a gigantic beam of energy that had released Dark Gaia and ripped the planet apart.

He looked at himself and saw why he felt that way: he had transmogrified into the savage wolf-like form he had taken each night after that memorable incident until he had defeated the powerful creature and sealed it back into the planet's core. He had returned to a blue color, but it was much a darker shade than his usual cerulean. As fangs, claws, muscle and hair grew around the twisting, snapping bones, completing his transformation into the Werehog, the excruciating energy continued to burn him everywhere. He let out another agonized scream, but it came out as a wild, primitive howl.

He could barely take it any longer. Why didn't it stop? Hadn't Slyss found out what he needed to know yet? He hated that lizard; hated what he had done to Lupa, and what he was doing to him now. And what sickened him the most was that the creature actually seemed to be _enjoying_ it. He rarely if ever felt such pure anger and hatred toward anyone, even toward a certain mad scientist that launched attacks on innocent people just because he was bored, but as the torture continued with no sign of stopping, he honestly wanted Slyss to die. And the slower, the better.

The energy around him suddenly seemed to grow bitterly cold and he felt hot rage boil up inside if him as these thoughts and emotions raced through his mind. He grew angrier and angrier by the second, and he didn't know why, but he didn't care. And the constant agony only enraged him more as he felt himself change again. He slowly felt himself shrink back to his normal size, but his fur turned from navy blue to black. A small, subconscious part of him recognized the transformation to his Dark form, one he only took in the worst of instances, but was entirely ignored in overlapping waves of pure hatred. Hatred that spilled out in tears of rage that coursed down his cheek and temporarily soothed the burning there. It was hot and cold, good and bad, strengthening and weakening all at once. The cold fire still raged around him, and even though it fueled his anger, it drained his strength.

The intense energy continued to rush through him, changing him through form after form in rapid succession. He was distorted, twisted and warped out of shape over and over again, sometimes into forms he didn't even recognize. He couldn't control his emotions, of anything else for that matter. All he could do was scream in agony and hope it would end soon.

Finally, after what must have been an eternity, he felt something hard slam into his back, immediately before another unyielding surface crashed into the back of his head. He fell forward, and his knees found something to fall onto, before the rest of his body followed suit, collapsing onto his stomach and remaining there in a completely exhausted heap, limp as a ragdoll. As he reoriented himself with gravity, he slowly realized he must've just hit the floor, bounced off of it, hit the wall behind him and then just now come to rest on the smooth, stone cold floor. It didn't give him much comfort.

He took short, quick gasps of air, almost sobs, as every motion hurt, and energy sparks that still ran over him caused him to twitch in erratic spasms every few seconds that caused a stabbing pain wherever they surged. He instinctively tried to curl into a ball for protection but he probably had a number of broken bones after that torture, and each uncontrolled flinch made the corresponding limb scream for mercy. He himself only let out a few low moans and whimpers as he lay there, unable to move a muscle. The burning was slowly dying down, but he still throbbed agonizingly everywhere, and he was beginning to shiver from shock, blood loss and cold.

He managed to sluggishly pry open an eye (the other wouldn't open for some reason he was unwilling to pursue) and slowly look the small room over. Red and orange splatters of blood were dripping down the walls and pooling on the floor, sparking viciously where they mixed. He could see Lupa in the far corner, hanging limply from the silver hoops that still held her in place, although two now lay uselessly on the floor, causing her head and an arm to droop lifelessly downward. Blood of both colors stained her face, arms and legs, and dripped to the ground in tiny, crackling puddles.

He had no idea what he himself looked like, and didn't even have the energy to examine himself, not that he really wanted to after one look at Lupa. But she hadn't been through what he had. He had been subjected to the storm's full wrath head-on, while she had been at its eye. If she looked like a jarred mess, he must've looked like the aftermath of an atomic bomb.

He glanced down at an arm that was stretched before him, caked with fresh blood and resting motionlessly on the ground. The hand at the end was partially clad with the shredded remains of a once white glove. He only recognized it as its own when a tiny but painful spasm caused a finger to briefly rear back like a claw. He could barely see the peach colored fur of the limb beneath the dark red blood that clung to it, with a small pool forming beneath.

His somehow still beating heart nearly froze at the sight, and the reflexive shiver following had barely any strength to it. There was no way he could lose this much blood and still walk away. Not without help.

"Thank you, Sonic. That was a most successful experiment," he heard the familiar, suave voice that was colder than the floor he lay on from somewhere nearby. He slowly raised his gaze and stared weakly up at the creature now standing over him with the cruel, yellow eyes. It was obvious he wasn't going to get any assistance there.

"You see, this could have all been avoided if you had just left well enough alone," continued Slyss. "We don't take meddlesome pests lightly and will eliminate them if they become too much of an obstacle. I believe this will suffice for you. You won't bother us again."

These last words were spoken with such cold finality, he felt the deepest core of his body drop several degrees. _This is it,_ he couldn't help thinking, and he was finally forced to accept that the next few seconds could very well be his last. He didn't know how to face them.

Thoughts of his friends flashed through his mind: the sweet, cheerful laughter of Amy that he couldn't ever seem to fully get out of his mind, even when she was fanatically chasing him with stars in her eyes or threatening his life with that giant hammer of hers; the proud, unyielding strength of Knuckles that never seemed to fail, even when things looked their worst, and always seemed to know what to do; and the ever-caring thoughtfulness of Tails, his best and truest friend and the closest thing he had to a brother. Shadow came to mind, too, as did Rouge, Lupa, little Cream, the Chaotix, and every other friend he had made in the wide world. The question of what would happen to them that sprung into his mind at the same time was immediately answered by what he knew in his heart to be absolutely true.

They would keep fighting. They would never give up, not even at the end. Because that was what they counted on him to do, whether they admitted it or not.

Maybe Slyss was right. He might not bother him again. But he knew a good number of people who would, and would continue to do so until they succeeded or died trying. And he was not about to give up on them, not now, not ever.

Though it was agonizing to even breathe, Sonic slowly lifted his head, causing sparks to race up along his entire frame. He felt stiff, wet and sticky everywhere, especially on his face. Whether it was from blood, sweat or tears, he couldn't tell, but he didn't care. His breathing became even more labored; not only was the shivering becoming uncontrollable, but his shoulders were trembling from the effort, too, and he was being supported by broken limbs, making him even more unsteady. He wouldn't let that stop him, though.

He used every bit of his strength to glare defiantly up at his captor, feeling no small satisfaction when the reptilian eyes slightly widened in surprise. "We'll… ngggh... s-see… about that… Slyss," he growled between spasms of chaotic energy. Then his strength deserted him and everything went black.

The last thing he heard was a long, amused purr and a final, foreboding message that was distant, but clear as a bell. "Yes. I'll be looking forward to it."

* * *

**IMPOTANT! **IN CASE YOU DIDN'T READ IT AT THE TOP, THIS WAS AN EXPERIMENT FOR A NEW STYLE OF WRITING! I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT IF BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTER, YOU REVIEW THIS CHAPTER AND TELL ME YOUR REACTION! I NEED TO SEE WHAT I'VE GOT GOING HERE BEFORE I CAN GO ANY FURTHER.

Thank you very much! ;D Ahem.

* * *

**A.N.: **So, you didn't think I could do anything worse to poor Sonic, did you? Well, you were WRONG! That'll teach that cocky little snot to grin at the camera and wink like he's all that. And you all thought Eggman was evil. Ha!

Btw, I don't think I mentioned it before, but by Slyss's "movie star velvety voice," I mean Rupert Everett smooth. Prince Charming from Shrek 2 (minus the flamboyant personality, of course. _Shudder_.). You know him.

Anyway, what do you think of Slyss? He shows his true colours here, and they're not exactly pink and baby blue. He's so much fun to write, you have no idea! XP

Okay, so I'm outta here for now. Might be back in a couple of months, might not be. But return I shall, Lord willing! I've gotta tie all this up, after all. ;)

Until next time, have a Happy New Year!

Nora


	9. Tracking

**A.N.: (IMPORTANT! NO, REALLY, IT ACTUALLY IS.)** Hey, guys. That is, if anyone is still reading this. I'm sorry for abandoning this story for so long, I've been busy with school and, quite frankly, I've lost most of my interest in this story. I've given this a lot of thought, and I've come to realize that I personally won't read a story with an OC, especially one that takes up the majority of the plot, and I'm not sure if I can write a story containing just that without feeling like a hypocrite. I'd like to think I've grown up quite a bit over the last time I was on here, and I'd like my writing to assume that manner as well. I mean, putting up a "please don't steal!" for Lupa every chapter? Really?

So, I've had this chapter and the next written up for some time now, but I was waiting until I was farther along in the story before I posted it. However, since it now seems like there may not even be a next chapter, I've decided that instead of completely abandoning the few readers of this fanfic (if any remain) without a word, I thought I'd at least give you these two. I've thought about this for the last two years (or has it been 3? Has it really been that long? I am so sorry, you guys) and this is my decision: this story is to remain incomplete like this and will probably be removed after a while if no one has any objections.

HOWEVER! This is not a permanent measure! If anyone asks me to continue this fic, then I will keep this on, and may even start writing it again. Provided I can remember what's even going on (heh, heh...). So, leave a review, or PM me if that's more your style. I don't get a lot either way. Tell me this story's great, you've never read anything like it - please continue! Tell me this story's horrible, the worst piece of wannabe literature since My Immortal - why haven't you burned all traces of this piece of horse dung? Tell me what you want me to do. Or don't. If I get no answer on this, I will assume that no one is reading it and I will remove it. No sense in having this pile of words take up space on the already overcrowded internet.

So, TL;DR version: I'm pretty much finished with this story, and unless you tell me otherwise, I'm removing it.

I cannot emphasize this enough: TELL ME IF YOU WANT THIS TO STAY ON. Even if you don't have an account, I don't bite! And even if I did, I don't know computers enough to do so through the internet.

Thank you all so much, everyone that supported me when I started this stupid thing. You made this a fun and enjoyable thing to do while I was bored in high school. Even if you don't read this, the thought still remains. Thank you all so much.

God bless.

Nora

* * *

Chapter 8 – Tracking

Navigating through the Neversame Canyon proved easier than expected with the signal from Shadow's tracker giving Rouge a constant point to follow on the readout on her sunglasses. They raced through the canyon, keeping alert for any other ambushes that might await them.

As they followed behind Rouge's hover scooter, the occupants of the Tornado X-Z couldn't keep their thoughts off of the battle they had just barely survived. How could Robotnik have defeated them? And why did he carry off Sonic? They tried their hardest to avoid thinking about the last, horrible image of their friend: bloody, broken and unconscious if not dead. Though doubts plagued their minds, they refused to believe them. Help was on the way, and it would take more than a giant rampaging robot to stop them.

Rouge slowed down a bit and flew up alongside them. "We're almost there. He's just up ahead," she reported. Tails nodded back and she led them down the next right.

The narrow passageway soon widened to a massive, open space that slowly sloped downward as they proceeded forward into it. A high rock wall surrounded the deep pit they now found themselves in, and numerous pathways branched out of it about every fifty feet. The only foliage around was a few small cacti that had managed to take root and grow in the weather-hardened landscape. The hard ground, completely dehydrated from years of next to no water, was a spider web of deep cracks that spread out from somewhere far ahead of them, presumably the center of this huge clearing, and the air rose from the scalding soil beneath their feet in shimmering waves that made the rock walls shiver uncomfortably in the arid heat.

"Wow. This must be the lake," deduced Tails.

"Lake?" echoed Amy.

"Yeah. This area used to be a huge lake with a bunch of rivers flowing out of it. You can see how this area is rounder and more bowl-shaped than the other parts of the canyon."

"Must've been some lake," commented Knuckles thoughtfully. "What happened to it?"

"Ten thousand years and a number of good sized earthquakes drained it and turned the rivers into this massive network of canyons," explained Rouge. "In fact, earthquakes around here are still pretty common, and the cliffs frequently shift position, opening some pathways and closing others within a matter of hours in some cases. That's why they haven't built any roads through here. The only way to get a tour through here is by helicopter."

"Unless, of course, you hop on a hover scooter," argued Knuckles casually.

"Or fly a plane," added Tails.

"Or run on foot," said Amy as her thoughts kept returning to her beloved blue speedster. She knew he was alive – there was no way he would have let himself get killed by that insane scientist – but she fervently wished that they would find him soon, and that he'd flash her one of his reassuring grins and hold her comfortingly and tell her that everything would be okay. But first they had to find Lupa, and then maybe with her help they'd have a chance of finding him. And then she'd make sure Robotnik would pay.

"Touché," replied Rouge, bringing Amy back into reality. "Then again, I have government clearance and you guys snuck in the back way." She looked up ahead and frowned. "That's weird. He should be right in front of us," she muttered before pulling ahead again.

They moved in toward the middle of the drained lake, where there lay a small, black, metallic object that looked all too familiar to Rouge. She looked around warily, then pulled up near it and examined it while Tails landed the Tornado nearby.

She immediately recognized the device as she picked it up and took a slow breath of dread. She removed her special sunglasses and took another look around, but there wasn't so much as a trace of the black hedgehog they were looking for.

The others came over to her. "What is it?" asked Tails.

She slipped her shades into a side pocket of her outfit. "It's the tracker I gave to Shadow. It's still working, but there's no sign of him anywhere."

"That doesn't sound good," said Knuckles.

"What do you think happened?" wondered Amy.

"Maybe the robot got him, too," suggested Tails quietly with a barely suppressed shudder of dread.

"No way," Rouge immediately dismissed. "There's absolutely no way he would've let that happen. Besides, when I found you, there was definitely evidence of something big, but here there's not even a sign of a struggle. He has to be around here somewhere."

"That's the conclusion I was hoping you'd draw," said a smooth, familiar voice from above them. they looked up to the top of the cliff to their right where Shadow stood, looking down at them with an arrogant half-smile which was his way of greeting.

Rouge shaded her eyes and smiled up at him. "Good to see you," she called. "Did you find anything?"

He jumped off the cliff and began sliding down the almost vertical slope with one foot in front of the other, and one hand trailing along the wall to maintain his balance. Jumping off when he neared the bottom and landing as if he hadn't just slid down a 500 foot wall, he coolly walked over to them while the stirred up dust fell in cascades behind him.

"I was beginning to wonder if you were actually coming. I've located what appears to be their base of operations, which is well hidden in another gorge nearby," he informed them. "It's situated in the wall of one of the canyons, and guarded by at least twenty of those creatures, all fully armed. There's also a scouting party of about thirty strong patrolling this area. They were drawn here by the tracking device you gave me."

"What? That's impossible!" cried Rouge. "There's no way they could have locked on to its frequency!"

"Obviously there is because they did," he returned bluntly, but his usual harshness was replaced by a tinge of the gentleness reserved for one of the miniscule number of friends he had. "Five of them intercepted me here. They must have recognized me from earlier because they immediately began attacking. They weren't a problem, but they managed to send a message back to their headquarters before I could defeat them. I left the tracker here for them to find and waited for more to come. They came straight for it, assumed I had lost it in the battle and spread out in a search pattern for me. After they passed by me, I determined the whereabouts of their base, then came back here to wait for your arrival. I thought they might have found you when you didn't show up, but I see now that that wasn't the case."

"Sorry," apologized Rouge. "I had to make a detour to meet up with them."

"Wait a minute," interrupted Knuckles. "So you were hiding up there?"

Shadow frowned. "I was avoiding detection, since the plan was to launch a surprise attack," he informed him. "And while we're on the topic, where's Sonic, since he's the one who came up with it? This is hardly the time for a scenic detour."

Tails and Amy exchanged an anxious look. Knuckles looked down with a scowl and clenched his fists. Rouge sighed. "There's… been a change in plans," she answered for them. "We're going ahead without him."

Shadow looked at all of them in turn, their strange reactions confusing him. "What happened?" he asked them.

"There was some trouble," she continued, as the others remained silent. "Sonic has… experienced a setback."

"Should we be expecting one of his usual just-in-the-nick–of-time appearances?"

Rouge let out a small, nervous laugh, but it was Tails who quietly said, "No, I… I don't think so."

"…I see," said Shadow, unsatisfied with the limited information they had given him. However, he noticed that a number of emotions hid just beneath the surface of Knuckles's glare, and he had one bruised and scraped arm cradling his ribs gingerly. Tails also had a number of cuts on his arms and face that looked like they had only just recently stopped bleeding, and even Amy had a number of bruises on her arms and legs as her downcast eyes glistened with unshed tears. It was apparent that they had recently been through a traumatic experience that they were still unable to talk about comfortably.

And Sonic, it seemed, had gotten the worst of it.

He glanced down the length of the dry lakebed. "Then we'd better get moving. They're probably on their way back here to regroup."

"I still find it hard to believe that they were able to track this," Rouge said as she examined the tracker as it continued to blink loyally.

"Well that's easy enough to fix," concluded Knuckles as he snatched the device out of her hands. Before anybody could tell what he was doing with it, he threw it on the ground and abruptly crushed it under his foot.

"_AAAAAAGH_!" screamed Rouge as he ground it into useless, metal shards.

"What are you _doing_?" demanded Shadow. "Now they _know_ we're here!"

"You wanted it stop tracking, didn't you?"

"By abruptly stopping the signal like that, they know _something's_ happened to it!"

Before he could defend himself, Rouge suddenly grabbed him by the collar and shook him ferociously, her eyes blazing with fury. "Do you have any idea how valuable that was? _Any idea?_" she demanded, glaring into his wide, uncertain eyes for a second before shaking him again even harder, emphasizing every word. "My entire _salary_ can't even afford the protective casing it comes in! How am I going to explain this to G.U.N.?"

He managed to pull away from her, stumbling backward while holding his spinning head. "What're you doing giving that thing out to people, anyway?" he shot back.

"I _trust_ him! You, on the other hand, can't even keep your blasted emerald safe, never mind anything that has any actual value!"

"Guys, stop it!" Tails tried to intervene, but was of course completely ignored as Knuckles's face turned as red as the rest of his fur with outrage at the attack on the most sensitive subject Rouge could've touched on.

"_Value_?! The Master Emerald is far more _valuable_ than any toy, and you know it!"

"Ohhh, yes! And we all know how wonderfully you're taking care of _that_ right now!"

"_Enough_, you two!" Shadow suddenly yelled at them. The unusual snap from the Ultimate Lifeform was enough to temporarily distract the arguing treasure hunters, allowing him to continue in a much calmer, but still rather frustrated tone. "This is pointless. Those creatures are on their way here now. If we can get to higher ground, we'll be far less likely to be caught off guard."

He noticed the beat up, blue plane and the sleek hover scooter parked a short distance away. "Tails, Rouge, get your vehicles and meet me up there," he instructed, pointing up to the cliff he had just descended, the top of which had a forest of pine trees sticking up on top of it. The thin trunked, evergreen trees had apparently found more moisture up there than in the sun-baked valley below, and had taken root and grown into thin but rugged pillars that stretched defiantly into the cloudless sky.

"The trees up there are spaced out enough that you should be able to maneuver them without too much difficulty. If we hurry up there, we can prepare a counter attack for the approaching aliens. If the two of you can pull yourselves away from each other, that is," he added with a sharp glance at Knuckles and Rouge, who had gone back to glaring daggers at each other, barely refraining from going for the other's throat.

"Hm." Rouge suddenly turned away with an aloof expression. "Of course. If I hang around him long enough, he just might break everything else I have on me," she said before heading purposefully toward her scooter.

"Starting with some of your bones," he growled back at her, trying not to notice the way she gracefully swayed back and forth with every step, the curves in her silhouette accented in the glaring light of the afternoon sun. He forced his eyes away from her and headed for the cliff wall, now even redder than before if possible, and wasn't sure whether to hate her or his own raging hormones more.

With one last, wary glance down the length of the dried lake, Shadow pushed himself into a large, but narrow crack that ran all the way to the top of the cliff and began climbing up it using the small, natural footholds inside it. Knuckles leaped at the cliff face and began climbing straight up it, digging fist over fist into the sheer rock wall. Rouge started up her scooter and smoothly took off, and Amy barely had time to climb into the Tornado X-Z before Tails activated the vertical thrusters and began lifting up off the ground.

Everybody reached the top at around the same time and, though the larger plane had more difficulty, Tails managed to locate an opening and ducked into the pine forest just as a small party of aliens entered the lakebed. They ran over toward them and began scaling the walls after them, snarling at one another in some unknown language.

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "We were too late. They've already seen us." He glanced over at Tails, who was struggling to control the Tornado as it crashed through the trees. He watched as it tried to turn in towards them, but it still continued sideways, scraping along the hard ground and tumbling over itself, throwing up clouds of dust and twigs around it. Rouge swerved out of its way, then rushed in to help as it came to a shuddering stop at the base of a somewhat sturdier tree.

A primitive snarl and a familiar roar from the cliff snapped his attention back to the first few creatures that were pulling themselves up onto the ledge. Knuckles was already there, fighting them back with quick, strong punches that flattened some and sent others screaming off the cliff.

_That was quick,_ he noted as he joined him, beating back the dark lizards as more and more of them made it to the top, quickly outnumbering and surrounding them. They were slowly forced back onto the plateau before they were cut off from behind, and even though they struck out with all they had, the creatures just took it and kept coming.

"Hey! What're you-?! Aaah!" Rouge suddenly cried out, and they both turned to where a good dozen aliens had managed to grab ahold of her scooter and pull it away from her. She managed to spring off of it and backed away quickly, putting as much distance as she could between her and them. Half of them held onto the vehicle as it was bucking around in a wild frenzy in the grip of its while the remaining six went after her, spreading out and cutting off her escape.

"What? How did they – aaargh!" shouted Knuckles as an alien bit into his shoulder. He whirled around and punched it square in the snout and it fell back with a shriek. Both he and Shadow were immobilized by the closely packed creatures that pressed in around them and struck at them from all sides. Though they were covering each other, they didn't have enough room to maneuver properly, or even fall back to help Rouge. All they could do was focus their attention on the vicious creatures surrounding them and try to fight a way through to her.

The half dozen aliens continued advancing toward her, and she kept backing away, keeping a close eye on them in case one or more of them should pounce. Then she suddenly gasped as she felt something solid behind her, and glanced quickly over her shoulder only to discover that they had cornered her against a thick tree, its rough bark digging into the space between her wings painfully.

She glanced desperately around the battlefield and felt cold dread spread inside her as it became apparent she was now alone. Knuckles and Shadow were holding off the aliens near the cliff; Tails's grounded plane was twitching and shifting stubbornly as he fought with the controls and tried to get it to respond in some way; Amy was perched behind him, trying to be encouraging as she watched the aliens cautiously, and half of the band of aliens that had attacked her were wrestling with her scooter as its identification programming hadn't recognized them as its owner and automatically rejected them as they repeatedly tried to overtake it. Their frenzied efforts gave her an idea, and though it might get them out of the battle alive, the cost of the risky plan would still be a hard blow.

She pinched a link on one of the bracelets dangling from her wrist and a yellow light on it blinked three times before turning red. About half a second after this, the confiscated scooter in the aliens' grip suddenly exploded, throwing the reptiles through the air, screaming in shock and pain, until they hit the ground and promptly dissolved into thin air, much like a monster in a video game.

Rouge didn't have time to notice this last part as she had spread her wings in the chaos of the explosion and launched herself up to the overhead branches of the tree she was backed up against. The creatures that had glanced back in her direction quickly returned their attention to her, and one of them literally barked a few, quick orders at them, presumably their leader. Three of them started scaling the trunk after her, while the others while the others waited below and covered them with their small gun-like weapons.

She kicked at their heads as they came up below her, but was forced to fly up to the thinner and weaker limbs above when they snapped back at her with their sharp teeth. She had to duck and weave at the same time as the aliens remaining on the ground fired red blasts of energy up at her, making the situation ever more desperate with every passing second.

She had just barely avoided a red orb that whizzed over her shoulder, when a small missile from out of the blue suddenly hit one of the climbers and exploded. The surprised lizard was thrown off of the tree and crashed through the dry branches, vanishing mysteriously before it even hit the ground.

Rouge gaped at the space that should have been occupied by a wounded alien soldier. Where did it go? Had it just been an illusion? But it had attacked her. And she had slammed her foot down onto its very solid head. Repeatedly. It _had_ existed. But why had it suddenly disappeared like that?

The five remaining creatures immediately turned in the direction of the fired projectile. Rouge followed their intense stares once she could pull her own eyes off of the eerily empty patch of ground down below. In the small space between two sturdy pine trees that had recently trapped the Tornado X-Z now stood a blue four-legged walker riddled with bullet holes and piloted by a determined twin-tailed fox with an equally resolute hedgehog right behind him.

Rouge took this opportunity to quickly check over towards the cliff where Shadow and Knuckles were still fighting back the twenty or so aliens that surrounded them. They fought valiantly, but the creatures took every attack they dished out and, though they would be down for a short time, they would come back just as strong as before, but with even more ferocity.

Shadow kicked up at a toothy jaw and glanced first at the walker that was now ready to join the fight, then in the ivory bat's direction. She nodded at him reassuringly, and he gave a slight nod back before spinning around and punching another creature that had reared up behind him in its throat.

A series of quick, harsh yips sounded out below her and the creatures down at the base of the tree spread out and charged at the Tornado, dodging the small missiles it fired at them. The remaining two resumed climbing up the tree, more carefully as the thin branches they stepped on threatened to give way.

One did as the creature that had gotten the highest underestimated its strength and pushed itself up too fast. With a _snap_ the branch broke underneath its foot and it began the inevitable fall back to earth. It managed to grab ahold of a stronger one on its way down, and though it creaked ominously from the sudden added weight, it held firm, leaving the creature dangling from it with one clawed hand.

Snatching this opportunity, Rouge leaped down towards it, stomping down on its vulnerable hand with all of her might. It squealed in agony and managed to loose its claws free with a quick twist of its wrist. This also cost it its grip on the branch, and it dropped the rest of the way to the ground with a solid _thud_.

She smiled in triumph, then remembered the second one. She whirled around to face the tree behind her just as it landed on the sturdy limb with unexpected grace. It lunged at her with bared teeth, and she jumped back from it with a panicked cry and tried to take off again. It was too fast, however, and grabbed her shoulders and spun around rapidly, slamming her into the solid trunk of the tree.

The air was forced out of her lungs, and there was nothing beneath her feet as she was held there, her wings painfully restrained behind her and completely useless in her current position. She gasped a few, painful breaths and slowly looked up into a grotesque face that hovered inches from her own. She immediately began kicking futilely at it, but its firm hold only tightened and her wings began to feel crushed behind her back.

"Aaaagh!" she cried out as the sharp claws began digging into her shoulders. She continued to struggle even more frantically against it, but could do nothing as a long thumb claw pressed into her throat, and though she tried to pry it away, her attempts were useless against the creature's strength.

There was suddenly a flash of bright light, and the solid _whump_ of something solid hitting flesh, and the painful grip on her throat was instantly released. She slid down to the limb beneath her feet and stumbled forward, only to be caught by another set of strong arms, albeit much gentler than the previous ones had been. She glanced up into a pair of crimson eyes that would have filled anyone else with icy cold dread, but instead gave her an immense sense of relief. Especially since she could see beyond the emotionless mask they always seemed to hide behind and found concern for her in them. The black hedgehog they belonged to was carefully supporting her as she regained her balance, stiffly keeping a bit of distance between them, but knowing how and where to position himself so he could catch her, yet without constraining her. It was a natural, yet unrehearsed action, as if it were something he had known how to do long ago, but had never done so until now.

_Shadow's showing his soft side? Today certainly is full of surprises,_ she mused with a smile. "Nice timing," she approved as she righted herself.

He looked her over quickly, checking for injuries before meeting her gaze again. "You're all right then?" he asked her, a rare question for him to ask.

"A lot better than that guy," she replied, pointing down at the creature that Shadow had knocked down to the ground. It had landed on top of the other one, and while one was groaning in pain, the one beneath squealed angrily at it, struggling to get out from under it and back into the battle. She stretched her wings carefully, beating them a couple times to ensure they hadn't taken any damage. "Thanks."

He nodded at her, softening his expression to what was a ghost of a relieved smile - another rarity – before glancing down at the action below. Looking around, they watched as it continued, with five aliens ganging up on the Tornado X-Z, which was thrashing around wildly in a desperate attempt to throw them off. Knuckles fought back against the swarm gathered at the cliff, though about half of them lay in various states of consciousness around him. From their perch in the tree, they could see others stealthily creeping in from the sidelines, slowly wearing the defenders down, but without revealing their strategy.

"We're wasting time and energy here," said Shadow. "We've got to get out of here now if we're going make any kind of attack on their base."

"Right. You get everyone together, I'll cover our escape."

He winced at her word choice, then jumped down into the fray. He hated to leave this unfinished, but knew he would more than make up for it later.

He raced over to the struggling walker first and forcefully pulled off two lizards that were clinging to its sides. He jumped back as Tails jerked the controls, slamming the side of the Tornado into a thick tree which threw off two others and flattened another.

Shadow caught Amy's and Tails's attention as the walker struggled for balance. "This is taking too long," he called up to them. He hesitated a moment before grudgingly adding, "Prepare to retreat."

He didn't wait for an answer as he turned and sped toward the skirmish near the cliff's edge where the outnumbered echidna was going down beneath the creatures' unfaltering offense. Quickly rolling into a spiny ball, he slammed into each of the scaly monsters in quick succession, giving Knuckles some temporary elbow room and enough time to stagger up.

"_There_ you are!" he exploded at him. His left shoulder was bleeding badly from the bite wound he had taken, and his chest and back were also scratched up pretty badly, but the fiery determination in his violet eyes was nowhere near being extinguished. "Way to ditch me! Where'd you go off to?"

Ignoring his question, he grabbed the wrathful echidna's arm and pulled him away from the cliff. "We're retreating. Come on."

"We're what?" he demanded as he stumbled painfully after him. "What are you talking about? Let go of me!"

Shadow complied, and they ran back toward Tails, who shook off his attackers one last time and bounded towards them with surprising agility through the closely packed trees. A line of about twenty aliens materialized before them, armed to the teeth, blocking their path.

"What the-?! Where did-? How did they-?" stammered Knuckles as he began slowing down a little. Then he noticed Shadow's clenched fist glowing a dangerous shade of red and unconsciously gave him a wider berth for the attack to come.

"_Chaos Spear_!" the Ultimate Lifeform shouted as a beam of Chaos energy shot out of his hand into the middle of the line before them. Creatures squealed as they were sent flying through the air, some vanishing as they hit the ground or smacked into trees, sparking with the powerful Chaotic energy.

With their line broken up, the remaining lizards scrambled to reform it as they prepared to open fire. However, Tails surged forward and smashed through them before they were completely ready, bringing a triumphant cry out of Amy as they were scattered before them.

As they shot past them, the remainder started to give chase with roars of anger and hisses of determination. Suddenly Rouge swooped down from the treetops and swung in front of them, scattering a number of small, round, yellow objects with little blinking lights in their path. Most of the creatures stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of them, while a couple dove for her as she flew right in front of them. She tilted her wings and twisted her body, skillfully swerving just out of their reach just as the metal balls exploded with a blinding light and let out a thick cloud of yellow smoke that burned all exposed nostrils and eyes that were unfortunate enough to be caught in it.

She caught up to the others as they continued their retreat. "That won't hold them for long," she reported, the agonized screams of their pursuers already beginning to quiet down a little.

"How did they even get past us?" wondered Knuckles. He was holding his wounded shoulder as he tried to keep up to everyone else, each pounding step sending jolts of pain right to it. He hoped it didn't show.

"They just appeared. Just like now when they tried to block us off."

"They must use some kind of teleportation technology," said Shadow. "I've seen them use it before."

"What are we gonna do now?" asked Tails. He and Amy were ducking to avoid the sharp branches that whipped by them as they smashed through the trees. They hadn't taken as many injuries as the others had, but they were still breathing pretty hard and obviously relieved to have gotten out of there when they had.

"We've lost the element of surprise, so we're going on an all-out-offensive," said Shadow. "If we're quick, we might still be able to catch them off guard."

"An all out offensive against those guys at their own base?" asked Rouge. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"Yeah! They outnumber us, like, a million to one!" added to Amy, taking a quick glance backwards as the snarling of the aliens resumed behind them.

"Does anyone have any better ideas?"

Looks were exchanged, but no one answered.

Shadow slid to a stop, and the others followed suit as they neared the opposite edge of the cliff. A deep trench ran in front of them; a long, wide, ancient riverbed that had dried up centuries ago. Down to their right, a posse of the creatures was running in their direction along the bottom of the trench, all fully armed with a number of weapons, large and small. Behind the approaching aliens, the cliff wall shimmered like water in the midday heat that baked the land. The refracting light distorted the image of the cliff, reflecting off of it strangely, making it almost appear metallic in certain places.

Shadow nodded at the trench below them. "That's where their base is. Lupa's somewhere inside," he said simply.

"Inside where?" Amy asked, shading her eyes and looking along the length of the trench. It looked empty, except for the small posse coming closer and closer to them. She swallowed and tried to find what it was Shadow was seeing before they were under attack.

Shadow pointed at the rock wall a little way down to their right where the gorge turned off to the left. On their side of the cliff, there was a point that shimmered quite a bit more than the rest of the surrounding area. "Look closely. That section of the cliff isn't real. It hides the entrance to their base."

Everyone followed his finger and squinted down through the heat waves rising from the dusty ground at the indicated spot. The metallic spots twinkling in the sunlight, they realized, were what really made up the rock face. They tilted their heads this way and that, backing up or leaning forward to get the best view of the so called base. After a bit of trial of error, their eyes widened in surprise as rocky wall was just an illusion that masked an advanced facility with a completely unfamiliar, but sophisticated structure that sunk into the solid rock. About twenty rows of small, round windows were set in lines along the unknown, dark material the building consisted of, and were darkened and impossible to see through, but reflected various shades of brown light in a strange way, creating the illusion of the rock that should have been there. Multicolored lights were blinking in irregular intervals all over platforms that stuck out of the otherwise flat wall. There was no way to tell how deep it ran into the cliff, but it was obviously quite a way, perhaps even the entire depth of the plateau.

"Wow," breathed Tails. "We never would've found it on our own. Nobody could have."

"How long do you think it's been there?" wondered Amy.

"Who cares? All I'm concerned about is how long it's gonna stay there!" said Knuckles, taking an aggressive step forward. "Which, if I have anything to say about it is gonna be about five minutes!"

"Rushing down there recklessly is the easiest way to get us all killed," Shadow returned bluntly, his eyebrows coming together in thought. "What we need is a way to distract them long enough for someone to find an entrance. Then we can regroup and begin the attack."

"And rescue Lupa! And then Sonic!" added Amy, eager to finally come one step closer to finding and maybe even saving the one and only love of her life.

"They'll regret messing with us," Knuckles growled with just as much eagerness. However, it wasn't the thought of rescuing Sonic that appealed to him, it was knowing that once this was over, he could return to Angel Island and properly resume his Guardian duties at the Master Emerald's shrine. He wouldn't be anywhere near comfortable until he got there again, and even though this crazy adventure allowed him to keep an eye on Rouge – who was in his books Public Enemy Number One - there was no telling who or what else could be threatening the Master Emerald, especially with an insane scientist bent on world domination and a band of equally mad aliens at large. And with the strange readings he got from the fallen rocks still haunting his mind, he knew that the sooner he got back the better. "Let's get this over with fast," he added with a set expression.

"Sounds like a plan," approved Rouge with a smile at Shadow.

"I can act as a diversion," offered Tails. "I'll swing around in front of it and attract as much attention as I can."

Shadow nodded. "While they're distracted, Knuckles and I can come at them from below and see if we can locate an entrance while taking care of any resistance."

"I'm coming, too!" called Amy, jumping out of the Tornado and coming over towards him.

"If you can keep the guards busy, I should have no problem finding a way in," put in Rouge. Then she winked. "I specialize in that sort of thing. That way, you can keep your efforts focused on fighting them off."

He frowned. "We can't keep you covered. You're going to have to look after yourselves for the most part," he told them.

"That's just fine," replied Amy with a determined grin, pulling out her massive hammer in one swift motion. "If they're gonna hurt Lupa the way they hurt my Sonic, they're gonna have to mess with me."

"We're in this together," added Rouge. "You're not getting rid of us that easily."

He looked around at the small group gathered around him for a brief moment. They were looking back at him expectantly, with expressions varying from friendly encouragement to fiery determination. They were allies, all joined together for a single cause, but yet they were all loyally fighting for one another, willing to go all the way to help out those they cared about. And that apparently included him.

As he considered this, it struck him that their apprehensive looks all had one thing in common: a question. They were waiting for him, for his approval, for the word go. He had somehow become their leader, an unfamiliar position for the almost explicitly solitary hedgehog. It was usually Sonic who came up with the plans and lead the charges, but where he was absent, they had now turned to him? What had he done to have this responsibility thrust upon him? What was he even supposed to _do_ with all of them?

Knuckles answered for him, holding up a fist impatiently. "What are we waiting for? Let's crush some aliens."

Shadow allowed a smile as dark as his own fur to come across his face and nodded, thereby accepting the necessary role. After all, if Sonic could lead this ragtag bunch, why couldn't he?

"All right. Here I go then!" called Tails as the Tornado leaped off of the steep cliff and began falling into the valley below. The others watched as it transformed as it fell, spinning and folding, morphing once again into its jet form before pulling up out of its dive at the last second and charging towards the alien base.

"Whew," sighed Amy. "That was close."

Shadow shot a glance back at the way they had come. The angry snarls of their pursuers were louder now and beginning to close in on them. "Let's go," he said and began leading the group along the cliff's edge towards their target. "You two head down on this side of their base," he instructed Knuckles and Amy. "Don't make the mistake of underestimating them. It may be your last. We'll go around and come in from the other side."

"All right! Let's do this!" shouted Knuckles enthusiastically.

"We're coming, Lupa!" called Amy.

"And we're not holding back," added Shadow much more quietly, the dark smile returning. "Let's find out how good these things are on the defensive."

* * *

**A.N.: **Yeah, I'm not too pleased how this came out, but maybe that's just me. Anyway, review if you liked, review if you didn't, review if you want me to continue or not.

Disclaimer: Sonic and all the characters pertaining to him belong to SEGA. Lupa belongs to me. Big difference.


	10. Final Preparations

**A.N.: **Have another chapter, on the house. Unlike the last one, I actually like this one. A lot. So I thought maybe you'd like it too? Sorry for not posting this earlier.

Disclaimer: Sonic and Eggman belong to SEGA. Any other character or location does not, Simple as that.

* * *

Chapter 9 – Final Preparations

For the second time that day, Sonic found himself slowly regaining consciousness in an unfamiliar place. Although he wasn't nearly as dizzy or exhausted this time around, it still took him a few seconds before he could fully blink open his eyes and begin sluggishly looking around at his new surroundings.

He was in the middle of a forest with a soft blanket of grass underneath him, and tall, strong trees towered high above him, spreading their leafy branches like a natural curtain, filtering the sunlight that broke through them and giving everything a soft shade of green. The delicate scene would have normally filled him with a tranquil calm, but now gave him an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

As he slowly uncurled from the fetal position he had woken up in, he felt a soft breeze blow through his fur, rustling the leaves and branches above him, as well as the grass beneath him like an idyllic breath of some fantastic fairy-tale creature of the woods. He painfully got to his feet and stumbled unsteadily before regaining his balance and looking around some more. Where was he? How had he gotten here?

He felt the uneasy shudder inside of him again as he wondered the latter question, as if it were a warning to not pursue the topic. He did anyway; searching his mind for a replay of the last few minutes of his life prior to here and now, but couldn't recall anything but _pain_. Intense. Burning. Rushing through every fiber of his being.

He shivered, suddenly chilled, and stared at the trees that looked like they stretched on forever, searching for an answer in their silent vigil as it seemed his own brain would provide nothing more than some kind of torture it had tried to eliminate from his memory, but hadn't completely succeeded. The forest was entirely new to him, and as so told him nothing. He thought he had seen everything the planet had to offer in all of his widespread adventures, but this place had apparently avoided him every time until now. It had a strange quality to it, almost timeless, as if it had always been here, and he had always been in it, and he would never leave it.

He didn't like it.

Another breeze gently caressed his face, and he perked his ears up to their most alert position and felt his spines rise instinctively as the uneasy feeling grew stronger and stronger. This place didn't _feel_ right, he felt oddly vulnerable and, above all, he had a definite feeling he wasn't alone in this peaceful place.

Footsteps muffled by the grass behind him immediately grabbed his attention, and he whirled around defensively. He wasn't sure what to expect, but when the tall, round shape of Dr. Robotnik appeared from behind one of the thick trees, staring in his direction with a frown of disapproval, it surprised him enough that he hesitated, unsure how exactly to react. What was _he_ doing here?

"About time you woke up," the man grunted, obviously unfazed by the fact that the two of them seemed to be the only ones in the area. There was also annoyance in his tone that made his comment sound like almost like a disgruntled pout.

Sonic's eyes narrowed as he recovered from his initial surprise, images of the battle in the Neversame Canyon flashing through his mind. The robot with the unmistakable crest was the most prominent memory, but the last sighting of his friends also burned in his mind: Knuckles getting slammed into a wall, Amy getting thrown out of the burning plane with Tails still inside it as it spun out of control.

"Where are they?" he demanded angrily, taking an aggressive step forward and holding up a tightly clenched fist toward him.

The doctor took a step back instinctively, looking genuinely confused. "What?"

"Don't play innocent with me, Eggman!" he snapped back. "What did you do with them?"

"What did I do with what? What in the world are you babbling about?"

_As if you didn't know. _His brain formed the words, but only an enraged growl came out of his throat as he charged straight at him. Maybe the old coot just needed a little jolt to refresh his memory. He watched the human's eyes widen behind dark glasses as the distance between rapidly decreased, but then all he could see was a blur of green as he was suddenly thrown back by some incredibly strong force. He went tumbling backwards end over end until at last he hit a tree behind him hard enough to see stars.

Though his head now felt as though a jackhammer was pounding into it and his ears were also ringing from the impact, he could hear Robotnik's distinctive laugh penetrating through his skull, the mere sound of which was almost more painful than his possible concussion. He was nearly bent double with both hands resting on his protruding gut as he cackled mirthfully. "Ho ho ho! Maybe that'll calm you down!" he finally managed to get out.

Sonic cleared his head with a shake and got back up, glaring even harder at him. The man hadn't moved at all from his position, and in fact looked even more relaxed than he had before. There was a triumphant gloat in every word, but it was strained, and there was a subtle, hollow bitterness to it, too, as if he knew this little victory was only a distraction from a much larger problem.

Pushing himself off the tree, Sonic charged at him again, rolling up into a ball this time to maximize the impact. But again the unseen force deflected his attack, sending him flying through the air with a surprised yell. He slammed into another solid trunk so hard he remained stuck on it for a few seconds with the wind knocked out of him before he slowly slid down toward the ground, his sharp spines leaving long trails in its bark. Then he fell forward onto his stomach, a few pained moans the only sounds he could make as he tried to regain his breath.

"As much as I'd love to watch you kill yourself, it won't do either of us much good. What are you so riled up about, anyway?" Robotnik questioned calmly.

Sonic slowly got back up again, coughing as he struggled to stay upright. He felt a thin trickle of blood trail down his chin, and he gingerly wiped it away as he glared again at the man. "My friends," he growled. "What did you do with them?"

Hedgehog and human stared each other down in silence for a few long minutes, one with teeth bared in a hateful glower, the other with eyebrows furrowed in puzzled contemplation. Even in his apparently safe position, Eggman knew it probably wasn't the best idea to push his enemy further, especially in an environment so far from his own. He was far too vulnerable here, and with his nemesis standing not twenty feet in front of him with a look that could start the next ice age directed straight at him, he knew he was treading on thin ice.

"I didn't do anything to them," he stated, feeling even more unsettled as the hard glare directed at him grew even colder. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't give me that!" Sonic snapped, taking a step forward hard enough to send a painful jolt through his entire damaged frame, which he winced from. "One of your robots attacked us in the Neversame Canyon and took off with Tails, Amy and Knuckles. Now _where are they?_"

Again, the thoughtful frown came upon Eggman's face. The many wheels in his head were turning as he searched for the appropriate response. He met Sonic's glare again when he had come up with one. "Did it ever occur to you that _you_ are the one who's missing, and not them?"

The glare softened ever so slightly for a moment as Sonic considered this. "What do you mean?" he asked warily. Years of facing off with the mad scientist had trained him to naturally take anything he said with a grain of salt. This was no exception.

"When was they last time you saw me?"

"At the Neversame Canyon, I told you."

"You saw me?"

Sonic hesitated and thought about it. Hard. "…No," he admitted.

"When was the last time you _saw_ me?"

"…In the Elder Woods when you kidnapped Lupa."

"And when those creatures showed up and began attacking my ship."

Sonic nodded, waiting for what he was getting at.

"I've been stuck in here ever since."

"What? No, you attacked us in the Neversame Canyon. _Your_ robot attacked us."

The man shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe it did, but I wasn't the one controlling it."

"No? Then who was?" Sonic asked, not buying his story for a second.

"Those creatures, I presume. They must've taken one of my robots and attacked you with it. Rather successfully, too, considering your current attitude," he added with a twisted smirk.

Sonic's eyes narrowed briefly, then he relaxed and shrugged carelessly. "Well then, that's a relief. For a second I thought I'd lost it or something, but now that I know it was those alien guys, it all makes sense," he said, leaning back on the tree behind him with his arms folded behind his head casually.

Now it was Eggman's turn to glare. "Watch it, rat. I still could have defeated you just as easily if I were there."

"You just keep telling yourself that, Eggman," he laughed. Then he stopped as a troubling thought came to him. "Wait. You were stuck… 'in here'?" he asked cautiously.

A cruel smile spread across the scientist's face. "You don't know where this is, do you?"

Sonic took another look around at the tall trees surrounding them, their leafy branches stroking each other lovingly as another gentle breeze blew through them. It broke the heavy silence that hung over them, and he realized what it was he found so eerily disturbing about this place.

There wasn't a sound to be heard anywhere.

No birds were singing, no squirrels chattering, no sound at all, save the sound of the other's voice (not exactly a siren's song) and the soft rustling of the foliage in the wind, and even that didn't sound entirely right. This place was… wrong.

"Umm… a forest somewhere?" he guessed weakly, even though he knew it couldn't possibly be.

Robotnik chuckled at the hedgehog's confusion and also lounged against a nearby tree. "Why don't you take a look around and see for yourself?"

Sonic gave him a suspicious glance, which the man waved off. "I'm not going anywhere. I don't have to."

With a final, strange look at the unusually cryptic man, Sonic turned and shot off into the trees, glad that if nothing else, he was putting a significant amount of distance between him and his enemy with every passing second. Maybe now he could finally start to look for the others, seeing as how it didn't seem he was going to get anything out of Eggman.

As he blasted through the silent forest, he began looking around for any other sign of life. There was none to be found, no matter how far he went. He couldn't even hear the babbling of a forest stream as he went on, and the trees weren't thinning at all, either.

Suddenly, he rushed by something red, at last a break in the conformity of green around him, and he skidded to a stop and quickly backtracked to the spot only to find Eggman still leaning against his tree in the exact same position with that calm, knowing expression planted on his face.

"Back so soon?" he asked sarcastically.

"Wh-what? But how… where… I just…" stammered Sonic, pointing backwards and forwards in bewilderment. Then he focused on the smiling human standing before him and glared yet again at him. "What are you trying to pull, Eggman?" he demanded fiercely.

Robotnik laughed at the furious hedgehog. "Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho! You mean you haven't figured it out yet? I was certain you of all people would be able to see it. It's not real," he told him, eyes twinkling darkly, thoroughly enjoying watching Sonic freak out. "It's just a loop that goes around in a circle. Even the wind is set in a pattern. Watch." He held up a finger and a gust of wind blew by a second after, its soft, caressing fingers now seeming like icy cold daggers through Sonic's spines.

_A mechanical wind,_ he thought with a barely suppressed shudder. _Now that's taking things too far._ He took a threatening step toward his enemy. "Then there'll be nothing to stop me from taking you down!" he snapped and lunged forward aggressively.

He drew back his fist, ready to strike as he surged forward, but before he had even gotten in range, something that he couldn't see knocked him back again. He hit the ground hard, and rolled a bit from the sheer power of the incredible force, but managed to recover, getting to a crouch and facing the gloating doctor with a snarl. "Stop _doing_ that!"

Eggman grinned. "Who, me? I haven't done a thing. You're the one who keeps throwing yourself around like that."

Sonic growled, but didn't take the bait. Instead, he advanced slowly, one step at a time, growing ever more confident as the smug grin faded from the man's face and became a pensive frown. "Hey! What do you think you're doing? S-stop that! Get back!" he commanded uselessly, taking a few steps back nervously.

Sonic kept coming until they were about three feet apart. Then something pushed Sonic back, and he staggered erratically until he regained his balance. He reached out again, and his fingers ran into an invisible wall that pushed back against him as hard as he pushed it.

He looked up at Eggman's relieved face and smirked. "A force field? Why didn't you just say so? Now how about I break that, and then maybe you can explain what's going on here."

Robotnik frowned and suddenly kicked out at the hedgehog in front of him. He jumped back reflexively, but not before he watched the human's leg get thrown backwards from a similar shield that was apparently protecting him from attack as well.

Sonic frowned at him. "Why'd you put one around me? That kinda defeats the purpose, doesn't it?"

Eggman glared at him as he rubbed his sore foot. "I didn't. I told you, I haven't done a thing. You want to know what's going on so badly? Fine." He straightened and stared down at Sonic. "Right now the two of us are being held captive by those reptilian creatures in a holding cell that's nothing more than a pathetic attempt at fooling us into thinking we're anywhere but. Our every move is doubtlessly being monitored by them, and they have obviously put these barriers around us to prevent us from killing each other. That's why you weren't dangling from your spines from one of those branches when you woke up," he finished with a nod at the leafy intertwined branches overhead.

Sonic frowned, both in discomfort at the painful image, and at the implications his statement presented. He must've been out for some time if Eggman thought he had enough time to do that. How did he even _get_ here?

He tried his hardest to recall the battle. He was fighting the mechanical soldier with all he had, Tails swooping around helping from above. Then he remembered that Knuckles got himself thrown into the stone wall. Tails got hit by a shot from the robot. Amy had gotten thrown out of the damaged plane. He had rushed in to save her, hadn't he? What happened next was fuzzier, though. He himself had got beaten somehow – something to do with a rockslide caused by the robot, he remembered. He must've gotten buried underneath and woke up… here? Or was there more…?

"I don't know what they're up to, or what they think they're going to accomplish while we're in here, but I do know that we are entirely at their mercy while we're here," Robotnik continued, breaking his train of thought. "And as for your little friends, I have absolutely no idea what became of them," he added in a tone that suggested he wouldn't have minded if they fried in the desert or became the subjects of some horrific experiment at the hands of the highly advanced monsters.

Sonic frowned and clenched his fist in resolution. "Well if they're gonna observe us, they can observe _me_ busting out of here," he declared and shot off into a different part of the woods. It led him straight back to the same spot again a few seconds later, and he ran off again, a claustrophobic panic building in his chest with each lap around the cell.

_There's gotta be a way outta here,_ his brain told him desperately. _There's just gotta be._ He looked around himself once again as he ran, but could only see trees in every direction. There was no sign of an exit anywhere, or even a hint as to where a secret one might be hiding.

He got an idea that maybe the exit wasn't in a horizontal direction, but perhaps in a vertical one. With that hopeful thought, he suddenly turned in his course and sprinted up a tree, expertly dodging branches until he came to the top.

He had to pause and shield his eyes from the bright light that shone down from above, no longer filtered by the leaves. Once his eyes adjusted to the glaring light, he took a look around and felt his heart sink into his sneakers.

The sky above was blue, but the sun seemed too bright, and took up too much space in the sky. Lowering his gaze, he saw nothing but an endless sea of treetops stretching before him, and there was still no sign of an escape anywhere. There was no kind of change in any of the landscape, either, just a blanket of green under an unnaturally clear blue sky as far as the eye could see.

And what chilled him the most was that the air smelled even staler up here than it had down below.

"No," he breathed, and shot back down to the ground below to get away from the disturbingly unnatural sight. He ran faster now, searching desperately for some kind of change, but the only one being Dr. Robotnik leaning casually against his tree. In fact, he was the only landmark Sonic had. If it weren't for him, he would have absolutely no way of orienting himself, not that it would have helped in this bizarre loop, anyway.

After coming back to his starting point for what must have been the hundredth time, he forced himself to stop and calm down. Running around in a panic wasn't going to help; it was obvious he was literally going nowhere fast, and he couldn't help but feel a bit of déjà vu as Robotnik's explanation for it kept replaying over and over in his head. He had experienced something like this before…

_A desert,_ he finally remembered. _There was a desert like this. This is just like it._

"Wind," Eggman reported in a bored tone, and a breeze blew briefly through the surrounding trees. "Convinced yet?"

"…No. There's gotta be a way outta here. I just haven't found it yet."

"There is no way out."

"Yes there is! There has to be! We got in here somehow, didn't we?"

"Teleportation."

Sonic blinked and stared at him. "What?"

"You may have been unconscious at the time, but I wasn't when they brought me here. Those creatures use teleportation to transport things here. You came here the same way. The only way we're leaving this room is if they let us out of here."

Sonic flinched at the familiar words. Somebody else had said the same thing to him quite recently, somebody with a velvety smooth voice and with a much slimier tone than Robotnik could ever pull off that chilled him to the core. _Who __is__ that voice? Why can't I remember?_

"No," he growled defiantly, both to the human and to the owner of that cold voice. "I'm not giving up. I'm not letting them win."

"Suit yourself," said Eggman with a shrug. "But could you stop running around in circles, though? You're making me dizzy."

Shaking with frustration, Sonic whirled on him. "Well I'm _sorry_ if I'm trying to find a way out of here instead of just sitting around doing nothing!" he exploded. "Maybe I _could_ if I had some help!"

"Help with what?" the man returned pointedly. "The only thing you're doing is providing entertainment for our captors. Face it, Sonic. There is no way out of here."

"There has to be!" he repeated. "We just have to keep trying!"

"I'm afraid he's right," a calm, male voice said from somewhere nearby. They both immediately turned to a figure standing off to the side, watching them calmly with pale blue, whiteless eyes.

The creature had dark, navy blue scales covering its entire body with thin, yellow streaks running along its limbs. Its face wasn't twisted into the fierce snarl usually worn by the reptiles; rather, its relaxed, scaly lips were covering the dagger-like teeth beneath, but it was still a grotesque thing to look at with more of the thin, mustard yellow streaks running up its neck and creating some kind of tribal pattern around its eyes and along the long muzzle that was set back over halfway through its skull. Its hands down at its sides had six fingers hanging from each of them, and looked almost peaceable if it weren't already known that there were razor sharp claws hidden in them that were sheathed for now, but could extend in an instant when necessary. It was dressed in a dull, red outfit that clung tightly to its thin torso and had alien hieroglyphs written along the sleeves and front, almost like prisoner attire. It stood with relaxed posture, obviously trying to radiate calm, but gaining as much trust from the other occupants of the silent forest as a serpent would to a trapped mouse.

"There is no exit to this place," the alien finished, shaking its head slowly.

Sonic immediately charged at it, slamming into its unprotected chest with all the might he could muster. It went flying backwards into a solid tree, and before it could slump forward, was pressed back up harshly and firmly held up by the collar of its suit by the furious, blue hedgehog.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take you down right here and now," he growled threateningly at it through clenched teeth.

"Because I'll… I'll let you," it gasped between strained breaths. Its fingers reached up instinctively for the gloved ones clenched dangerously close to its throat, but kept its claws sheathed.

"What?" wondered Sonic, relaxing his grip slightly.

"Don't let him trick you," warned Robotnik from behind.

Momentarily torn between keeping his eyes on the insane doctor behind or the ferocious alien before him, Sonic decided that the one more likely to kill him was the one with the pointier teeth, and so pushed the creature firmly back against the tree and looked it square in the eye, subconsciously noticing as he did so that it looked somehow familiar. "What did you mean by that?" he demanded.

"You've noticed the restrictive barrier between the two of you, yes?" it asked calmly, though its voice trembled slightly as its airway was being stressed and it hadn't yet fully recovered from Sonic's attack.

Sonic smirked wryly. "Yeah. Guess yours didn't work, huh?"

"That's because I don't have one. I could have put one around me before I entered, but I didn't."

"Why not?"

"I need to talk to you."

Sonic stared at the creature for a few long seconds, wondering why it looked so familiar. The light blue eyes stared right back, intense, and apprehensively waiting for his response. He had seen that piercing stare before, hadn't he? But it hadn't been directed at him. He concentrated hard. That dull, red suit; those dark, blue scales; that pattern of thin, yellow streaks that coursed along its face and limbs; those intense, pale blue eyes. Those eyes that had been solely focused on…

_Lupa._ It all came back to him in a rush, memories clicking back into place in immediate consecutive order. The endless desert; the room; Lupa; the threats; the burning orange storm that even remembering now was agonizing; the cold, slippery voice that accompanied shiny, amused, yellow eyes that would haunt anybody's deepest nightmares.

_This will be a most interesting session…_

And now, before him, was a pair of just as intense blue eyes, and almost as familiar. His own narrowed icily as his now clear mind recalled where he had last seen them. "You," he growled, digging his fists into the creature's throat. "You were in the room with Slyss,"

The blue eyes widened in surprise momentarily, before scrunching up with what he could've sworn was pain, and it looked away, almost shamefully. "Yes. That was me." The gaze returned to meet his, this time pleadingly. "That's what I need to talk to you about. I need your help."

"Help? You? Why should I believe you?"

"You are a friend of Mitzika's, yes?" it pressed.

"You mean Lupa? Yeah."

The creature suddenly flinched, and looked as if it had been struck. Then its eyes narrowed to slits. "What did you call her?" it growled in a dangerously level voice, baring its sharp teeth.

Sonic pulled his head back slightly. "W-what?"

"You can do as you please with me, but don't you ever call her that again," it hissed, leaning forward, bringing its teeth ever closer to Sonic's nose.

"What? That's her name, isn't it?"

"Of course not!" it suddenly snapped, now gripping Sonic's wrists furiously. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"That's what she told us."

The creature paused and stared at him in confusion. "She… told you that?"

Sonic nodded. The alien watched him for a few more seconds, then suddenly fell back again while its hands fell down to its sides limply. It looked away with a mixture of confusion and pain and seemed to mouth, "Why?"

"Don't let your guard down," Robotnik warned again, and Sonic jumped slightly at how close it had sounded. He had come up behind him and was watching the creature carefully. "They're a tricky bunch."

Sonic turned back to the alien, but kept Robotnik in the corner of his eye. "You said you needed our help?" he prompted.

The lizard met his eyes again. "Yes. I need you to break out of here."

Sonic actually dropped it, he was so surprised. "What?"

The creature leaned back against the sturdy tree and rubbed its throat gingerly. "If I get you out of this room, can you find a way out of here?"

"Well… yeah, I mean… you want us to?" Sonic stammered uncertainly.

"What do you take us for?" the doctor demanded accusingly. "This is just another of your tricks, isn't it?"

"What could I possibly stand to gain from you escaping?" it asked him pointedly.

Robotnik frowned, unable to answer right away, so Sonic did for him. "Then what's the catch?"

"There is no catch. Simply escape. That's what you were trying to do earlier, wasn't it?"

"Why?" he asked with wary suspicion.

The creature sighed. "Preparations are being made as we speak for the extraction process. In a short time, they are going to remove the emerald dissolved in Mitzika's bloodstream."

"No." The word automatically came out of his throat, albeit in a hoarse whisper.

"Slyss won't stop until all eight of what you call the Chaos Emeralds, as well as the Master, are in his possession, you know this, don't you?" it continued with a glance in his direction. "Once he gets his claws on one, it will only be a matter of time, and a short one at that, before the others are also gathered. This must be stopped if there is to be any hope for your world, and the easiest way to stop anything is to prevent it from happening in the first place."

Sonic nodded. "What did you have in mind?"

"You're not actually going to listen to him, are you?" Eggman asked demandingly.

"Better him than you," he retorted coolly.

"He's one of them!"

"Maybe so, but if he's gone to all this trouble to talk to us, then we can at least hear what he has to say."

The creature smiled gratefully before continuing. "Slyss has insisted I be present during the… process," he explained, drawing out the last word through its teeth with obvious disgust. "So I will be in the perfect position to free her. But I'm going to need a distraction. That's where you come in. I'll let you out of here, and as you escape, I'll be able to perform the rescue."

Sonic and Robotnik exchanged a look, temporarily sided together against the reptile. Its plan sounded simple enough, but there was a huge hole in the middle of it. Something even the two enemies silently agreed didn't fit. "Why do you want to rescue her?" Sonic asked suspiciously. "And why are you helping us?"

"If Slyss retrieves all of the emeralds, there's no telling what he'll do. When we were here six millennia ago, Mitzika fled with them and managed to keep them out of his grasp despite his tireless efforts. He has convinced himself and everyone else that they were stolen from us by her, and will not stand and let this so-called injustice go unpunished. He has our entire race eating out of his hand, so to speak. He believes in unquestioned authority, especially when he has it, and that there should be one ruler with supreme control, and that, of course, should be him."

Sonic smirked. "That sounds familiar," he said with a sideways glance at the human beside him. The doctor folded his arms and grunted disapprovingly.

"He's considered a hero on our planet, even after his great loss," the creature continued. Then it added in a mutter, "In fact, he even managed to turn that into an advantage for himself." In a clearer voice he said, "As such, he now has the support of the entire _ree'shkez_, our government of rulers, and our entire army is also at his disposal. Since his past experiences here have been… undesirable, I doubt that he will stop with Mitzika and the emeralds. I am quite certain that your entire world will be in danger of total domination… or complete obliteration."

"Isn't that what you want?" asked Robotnik.

The creature's eyes grew hard and a six-clawed fist clenched angrily at its side. "I know Slyss. I have seen what he truly is. Once he's finished here, it will only be a matter of time before our own planet is under his control. I've seen how he rules, and how he exercises every bit of power he has to the limit. I cannot sit here and watch him crush both of our worlds in his unyielding, ruthless grip that will destroy everything that does not fully agree with his way."

It paused for a second, the yellow pattern around its blazing eyes giving it a wild look of a raving lunatic. "I don't care what happens to me. All that matters is that Mitzika stays out of Slyss's grasp. If not, then all is lost, for all of us." It straightened and looked Sonic square in the eye. "If you believe nothing else, then believe this: I will do everything in my power to make sure she stays safe," it said in a low, deadly serious voice.

Sonic stared back at the strange creature for a long moment, deciding what to make of its speech. It spoke so differently from all of the other aliens he had seen. There was emotion, passion and meaning in every word it spoke, and it was going against his obviously extremely dangerously leader despite the perilous consequences. It had broken out of the conformity that the others so flawlessly displayed, and actually seemed to truly _care_ about the lives that could be lost or ruined. Everything about it was so…

_Different_. Could it even be possible? "You're… Nug… Nig… Neguuma," he said as realization dawned upon him. "Aren't you?"

A long jaw of sharp, carnivorous teeth bared in what looked like a threatening snarl if not for the unbridled joy suddenly shining in the bright, blue eyes above it. "She… told you about me?" he asked, leaning forward eagerly.

Sonic nodded with a smile. It was him alright, there was no mistake. "Oh, yeah. She really seemed to respect you."

Neguuma looked away with a dreamy grin. "She remembers me," he breathed ecstatically. "She actually remembers me."

"And what, exactly, is a goomba?" Robotnik asked suspiciously, completely shattering the moment like a brick through a stained glass window.

Sonic sighed. "Neg-yoo-ma," he sounded it out for him impatiently, as if for a slow-learning child. "He's a friend of Lupa's, and-" he started to explain, but was suddenly cut off by a menacing growl from the mentioned alien. "Err… I mean… M-Mitzika," he corrected himself. The name didn't sound right for her, it was far too exotic and unconventional for someone as quiet and reserved as her. But if it kept the alien from possibly tearing him apart, Mitzika it was.

Neguuma snorted and shook his head in exasperation. "You don't even know what it means, do you?"

"Means? It's just a name isn't it?"

Neguuma sighed. "No, it's not. 'Lupa' is a word from her native language meaning 'pathetic' or 'useless', but more so. It was a title reserved for the lowest of the low in her society: slaves, foreigners, outcasts and the like. Her father disowned her and gave her that title shortly after she began to develop her powers. I'll never forgive him for that," he finished in a low growl with a cold, distant glare at nothing.

"I… I'm sorry," apologized a shocked Sonic. "That's the name she gave us. I-I didn't know…"

Neguuma shook his head again. "I know. She's never had a very high self-image, but to do this to herself…" he trailed off sadly.

"Now just a minute," Eggman interrupted again. "What is going on here? Who is this creature, and why is he all of a sudden on our side? Not that we have a side, mind you," he added with a disapproving glare at his nemesis.

Neguuma glanced sharply at him with narrowed eyes. "I don't need to explain anything to _you_. Don't think I've forgotten what you were trying to do before we brought you here. Nice try, by the way," he added with a toothy smirk.

Then he suddenly rushed toward him, reached up, grabbed the man's bushy moustache and yanked his face down to his level with a low snarl. "But I wouldn't recommend trying anything like that again. You won't live long enough to regret it," he growled with deadly finality. He glared into the wide eyes cowering behind dark glasses before just as suddenly releasing him, letting him stagger back with a pained yelp, his hand to his face.

Sonic stepped up behind Neguuma. "I wouldn't worry about that. She won't let him try anything," he assured him."

The alien smiled knowingly. "I know," he said with a gentle, amused purr. Then he turned to the hedgehog with a much more serious expression. "She trusts you, though. I can tell. She's stayed with you this long, after all. That's why I've come to you for help."

"You're not going to get any from me, alien," growled Robotnik as he rubbed his stinging face.

Neguuma glared at him over his shoulder. "I wasn't talking to you. If you don't mind, I'd prefer to have this conversation in _private_," he said calmly, and wiggled his claws in his direction.

"What are you-" the doctor started, but was cut off as he disintegrated into thin air.

Sonic started. "Whoa! What'd you do to him? You didn't just…?"

"No. He'll be fine. I merely moved him to another cell."

"…The desert."

Neguuma gave him an impressed smile. "…Yes. I've created a loop in the live footage to hide my presence, and so no one knows I'm here, and one no one knows he has moved. He can yell all he wants, but no one will hear him. I'll bring him back when we're done."

Sonic frowned. "Do you have to?"

A long, crooked grin spread across his face. "I'm afraid so. The loop will only last as long as I'm here, and if he's in there when their live feed returns, then they'll know something's up." Then he sighed. "He had a point, though. An explanation is in order if you are to trust me. I'll try to keep it brief, but there is just so much…"

"Go on."

He took a breath. "Approximately six thousand four hundred and sixty years ago, an observation party came to this planet led by Slyss himself to study the plentiful and varied forms of life here, as well as to research the growth of the cultures that were forming. The mission was a simple and peaceful one. No one was to know of our presence, and individuals were only allowed to be studied when there was no chance of us leaving an affect that would link back to us. This was being accomplished without any difficulty until one day, we found a sapient wolf pup left alone in the wilderness, clearly left there on purpose." He paused and raised an amused eye ridge. "Guess who that was."

Sonic frowned. "She was just left there? Why? Who did that?"

"We did not know at the time. We simply saw her as something to study at the time, especially Slyss. He is a true biologist at heart, fascinated by the many forms life takes in this universe and how they interact and respond to various stimuli. However, the limitations set by the _ree'shkez_ failed to satisfy him as he was held back from any kind of contact with any intelligent life. The only exceptions were those found dying or already dead far away from any kind of settlement, but since the abandoned infant fell under these allotted criteria, he took her in for intensive research and began experimenting immediately. Human and sapient life had fascinated him from the moment he had arrived here, and now he had a chance to observe one in its earliest stages of development, which had been far beyond his highest hopes.

"It quickly became clear that she suffered from a fatal genetic sickness, which must've been the reason for her desertion. As such, Slyss only had a limited time to perform the tests he wanted before she died," he continued, pausing with a slight shake of his head. "I don't even remember all that he did, they were done in such rapid succession. All I really remember is screaming and endless streams of data pouring in."

"So you were there."

Neguuma nodded. "Yes. I was one of Slyss's highest ranking officers. Myself and my brother Rregnis were among the most respected in our party." He paused briefly and glanced over at him pensively. "You… haven't seen him, have you? Rregnis?"

"Umm… I don't think so," he answered uncertainly.

The alien sighed sorrowfully and shook his head. "I thought not. It has been over six millennia, after all." He paused again in brief mourning before continuing again with a dismissing shake of his head. "Anyway, whatever we were doing was giving the infant strength; enough to fight off the disease for a few days longer than initially expected, at any rate. Intrigued by this, and stumped as to why this was happening, Slyss did more specific tests and discovered a genetic quality within her that seemed to have a react with the Chaos Emeralds Slyss had been entrusted with for research purposes."

"That was the emerald inside her, right?" wondered Sonic.

Neguuma shook his head. "No, not yet. It was a special… connection to the energy emitted by the Chaos Emeralds. A specific genetic quirk that we originally thought was only present in us, but had now been identified in a life form here. You yourself have this quality, as I'm certain you already know. That's the main reason Slyss is so interested in you."

Sonic cocked his head to one side in thought. They not only knew about his connection to the emeralds – something he himself didn't fully understand – but they had also narrowed it down to genetics. How had they managed that? And how much did they know? Now was as good a time as any to find out.

"So what is this… genetic… quirky… thing?" he asked.

"A mutation, if you will, caused by the presence of the Chaos Emeralds. We didn't know it even existed until we brought them here, we just assumed it was naturally part of our own makeup. It would seem that when the emeralds are brought into a planet's system, their energy aligns itself with that of the planet, and the two systems become symbiotic: they benefit from the other's energy. Everything that gets its energy from the planet also gets a taste of the Chaos Energy from the emeralds. This, we found out over the years, caused life to flourish here, within a decade causing populations to reach levels that would have normally taken two or three times as long to attain. The planet itself became healthier, and the life here benefited from it.

"However the high levels of energy didn't come without side-effects," he continued. "It took a while, but eventually the energy began to have effects on the creatures here, especially sapiens. They were small genetic flaws, though, as the amount of energy the creatures were actually exposed to was miniscule, but they sometimes had significant effects. Some were obvious, others were not. Many went without notice. However, some would acquire incredible skill in a particular area. Some would be born a vastly different color than the norm. Others would have an intricate connected to the energy of the planet and the emeralds. But you know all this, don't you?" he asked with a look in Sonic's direction.

He stared back. This was beginning to get creepy. "How do you know all this?"

"We were the 39th and final observation party assigned to this planet. We had only begun studying what effect the emeralds would have on this planet twenty parties before our own. These characteristics only began appearing once the emeralds finally established their link to the planet, and had only been discovered a few parties previous to ours. It didn't take a genius to find out what they were and what was causing them."

"So… all Mobians… are _mutants?_" Sonic asked incredulously. This was getting to be too much.

Neguuma shrugged. "Not necessarily. The emeralds have been part of this planet's energy for so long, these traits have become part of what you are. And they were actually very minor changes for the most part. Besides, it was only the sapient life that developed any kind of effect."

"Mobians _are_ sapiens!" exclaimed Sonic, still unable to believe that this entire category of people was now classified as mutants. It just couldn't be! "There's humans, and there's Mobians, there's a huge difference between the two!"

The scaly head tipped to one side in consideration. "I see. So you're concern is that _you_ are a mutant?"

"Not just me, everyone!" How could all Mobians be mutants? That was like saying all twins had two heads. Or all lefties were less coordinated or less intelligent than righties. Or, even worse, proving some humans' incredible belief that all Mobians were animals, and were to be treated as such. Humans were notorious for having superiority complexes and power trips, and if what Neguuma was saying was true, then it would only fuel these ridiculous beliefs and further separate the two classes.

"Like I said, not necessarily," Neguuma answered him. "Everything on the planet has been subjected to the emeralds' energy, so realistically, everything has been mutated. In that sense, nothing has. It depends entirely on your definition of the word. Biologically, yes you are all mutants. However," he quickly continued when he noticed Sonic's quills deflate, "if you believe mutants to be those having traits that make a significant impact on one's appearance, behavior or way of living, then perhaps originally so, but no longer is this the case. Any effects by the emeralds have been accepted as normal, and those who are exceptionally gifted – such as yourself and Mitzika – are simply that: gifted."

Sonic nodded reluctantly. "I think I get what you're saying."

"Abnormalities are only abnormalities when they are in the minority. If you were to see a Mobian of their true, original color, you would think that odd, no?"

"Not… necessarily," he said slowly. But now that he thought about it, it was pretty rare to see a Mobian in brown or gray. Neguuma had a point."But it is kinda unusual," he admitted.

"Precisely. Only back then, it was the other way around, and the vibrant colors you have today had never been seen before. Which was exactly why Slyss was so enthusiastic to study Mitzika. He had always been interested in the connection the emeralds seemed to have to life, but had been unable to observe it accurately until this point. He had developed a number of theories regarding this connection, and was certain that the best way to test all of them was to see how far this genetic quality extended, and how deep the connection was.

"The next few days went by in a blur. Slyss tried a number of small scale tests in nonstop succession until he had confirmed a number of his theories. However, he couldn't verify what prolonged exposure would do to her without a full-sized experiment, and this was what his main idea consisted of. If he was correct, as he had been up to this point, he would have discovered a way to increase the already massive amounts of energy the emeralds possess, and perhaps use this extra energy to forge a stronger life force, and perhaps even a stronger race. So, with this theory, his data, and his incredible power of persuasion, he managed to convince the _ree'shkez_ to permit him to break down one of the emeralds into a soluble substance and inject it into the infant's bloodstream."

"So that's how it happened."

The alien nodded. "Yes. At first it seemed to have no effect, except for the development of slight phosphorescence. This was expected, seeing as how a Chaos Emerald was now part of her. They seemed to bond well, much to Sylss's delight. Then days passed and she began growing significantly stronger. She became calmer and began to observe her surroundings, instead of spending her time wailing in pain. After two weeks, she showed no symptoms of the disease that had until then threatened her life. We never dreamed anything like this could happen, especially to one so young. But it was when I was on observation duty and we… touched… that definite effects were confirmed."

He stared down at his claws and smiled distantly, as if at some warm memory. "She seemed to obtain a much higher understanding of everything around her than deemed possible, including our language. She seemed to comprehend what we said around her, and even spoke a few words back to us. At first, it appeared to be random experiments with her own voice, but it was clearly our words she was mimicking. Had she been old enough to communicate, she could have easily picked up our entire language. In fact, it was this ability that allowed us to perfect our translator gems. Don't ask how."

Sonic nodded, not really wanting to know how the details of that experiment. Or any, for that matter. The thought made him shudder. Besides, his only knowledge of advanced technology came from science-fiction movies, and all he had really gotten from those was that lasers made things go boom. That and humans were apparently the most versatile and heroic species in the universe. As if. But he had to admit it was pretty interesting that Lupa had had a hand (albeit an unwilling one, which was what really bothered him) in those glowing crystals the aliens around their necks, the ones that gave off a light with every word they spoke.

However, as he looked at Neguuma, he noticed that there was no such crystal around his scaly neck. Or anywhere else, either. "Where's yours?" he asked with a confused frown.

"I don't need one. I already speak your language."

"Oh." That made sense, he guessed. But something else puzzled him. "How do you know this… touch was what started it?"

"Because it changed me as well," he answered simply. "I think you understand."

"You mean you…" he started to ask, but trailed off. Could this creature share the same kind of connection with Lupa that he had? Maybe that was why he was so close to her; he needed to be. "Can you feel her too?"

The long, reptilian head cocked to one side in confusion. "Feel?"

"Her energy. And track her down anywhere."

The pale blue eyes stared at him thoughtfully for a few seconds in consideration. "…So that is how it is with you," he finally mused, causing Sonic to flinch uncertainly. Should he have told him that?

"I've seen her link with others before," he continued. "It would seem everyone has a different reaction to her, some more intensely than others. It is only a certain few that can connect with her, and though each has their own experience, they all seem to share a few things in common. Upon contact, she gains an understanding of the languages the other is fluent in, and they, in turn, gain something from her. Sometimes it is significant, other times it is not. The reaction you have is almost entirely physical, as you must already know. I don't know the details, and I doubt you do, but it would seem you have some kind of an attraction to the Chaotic energy she possesses."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah." Then a proverbial light bulb lit up over his head as inspiration struck. "Oh, hey! I can find her now, can't I? Make sure she's okay!" He grinned happily, but at the same time felt like kicking himself. Why hadn't he thought of it earlier? There were too many distractions here; first Robotnik, then this strange repeating pattern of endless trees, and now this alien who seemed to have an explanation for everything that was happening. He had to focus if he was to get out of here in one piece, and with his sanity intact as well.

He frowned in concentration, finding it harder than usual to lock in on her signal. Usually it didn't require any thought at all; it had always been present in the back of his mind, and he just pushed it out of the way when he needed to think of something other than the relative location of a certain orange wolf. In fact, it had taken more effort to do that than it had to actually find her, but now there wasn't so much as a tingle in the back of his mind. What was wrong?

Then again, it had been getting harder and harder for him to find her signal lately. And after today's beating (it had been today, right?) he was actually surprised anything worked right. He just needed to focus harder.

He closed his eyes tightly and inclined his head, trying to shut out everything around him and focus on that subconscious 'attraction' to the emerald within her, as Neguuma had called it. But there was nothing there. He concentrated harder, uneasiness building inside him as nothing came to him at all. _What's wrong? Where __is__ she? _He thoroughly delved into every crevice of his mind for some sign of her existence.

Nothing. It was if there had never been anything there at all.

He feared the worst. What if it was already too late? What if Slyss had already done what he wanted and removed the emerald? What if she was _dead?_

"…Is something wrong?" Neguuma's voice broke through his concentration, tentative but curious at the same time.

His eyes flew open, and he stared wide-eyed at the blue eyed lizard, who was waiting with a concerned and somewhat puzzled expression on his scaly face. There had been no malice in his question, rather simple confusion at the other's strange behavior.

"She's gone," he reported, his voice hoarse and on the verge of panic. Could Slyss have won already? "I can't feel her anywhere."

Neguuma's face froze, and he stared back, his expression unreadable. His only motion was the twitching of his tail as he digested this information.

Sonic continued when it seemed he was getting no response from him. "It's like she was never there at all! I-I don't know what could've happened! She's not… Slyss hasn't yet… Are we too late?" The last question came out softer and carried much more weight to it than the others had.

After a few moments of apprehensive silence, Neguuma finally shook his head. "No. I am to be there during the operation. Slyss was insistent on that. They won't start without me. And she must be alive for it, or the emerald within her will also die."

"Then why…?"

"Were you expecting the connection to end?"

"Wha…? No. I mean, I guess it would've worn off eventually, but what're you-"

"Worn off? Explain." There were wheels turning in the alien's head, their overtime workload making his words seem almost robotic. But there was fiery determination spurring them on.

"Well, I mean, it's been getting weaker lately, I guess," he tried to explain. But it was difficult when he himself didn't have a clue what was going on. "But not a lot. It might not be as strong as it was when it first appeared, but it's always been there."

A thoughtful pause followed. "Was it a gradual 'wearing off' process?" Neguuma asked carefully.

"Kinda."

The word hung in the air for several seconds as Neguuma waited for an explanation of the vague term, his frown having turned significantly more sarcastic.

"Er… that is, it's not really a gradual thing, it kinda suddenly gets weaker every now and then. And then it stays that strong for a while before dropping down again," he tried to explain, surprised at his own explanation. He hadn't really thought about it before, so he was trying to explain it to both of them at the same time. He hoped at least one of them was figuring it out.

Another heavy pause followed. "Does anything seem to initiate these drops in strength?"

"…I don't…" he started, and then thought about it some more. When had he noticed a weakening in the signal? After all, it had been impossible to ignore at first, and he had done everything in his power short of swimming to get to it as quickly as possible. Then he had found her, and it had calmed down to a much duller roar in his mind. In fact, in the Elder Woods when Eggman had kidnapped her, it had taken quite a bit of concentration to actually locate her. Then in the city after the aliens had taken her, he had almost thought he'd lost her it had quieted down so much, and only after Shadow had prompted him did he manage to get a lock on her and find her. Now she was gone completely from his mind, with no real hint as to why.

Or was there? What had each of these scenarios shared in common? She had been separated from him each time, true, so did distance affect it? That didn't make sense. Time, maybe? It had only gotten weaker and weaker as time went by, but in sudden drops, so that was unlikely as well. _What could it be?_

"Contact, perhaps?" Neguuma's voice broke through his train of thought. Sonic's head snapped up at the sudden call back to reality, and noticed the lizard was staring down at the hedgehog's hand with a thoughtful expression.

He glanced down and noticed he was unconsciously rubbing his thumb along his fingertips as he tried to think of a possible explanation. It wasn't a habit he usually partook in and he stared down at them, slowly continuing the action on purpose as he pondered Neguuma's suggestion.

_Contact_. A touch. One that sent painful jolts of Chaotic energy racing through his entire body. A touch that had taught the wolf English and told him he had found what he had been looking for. A simple touch that had started everything. That was what had calmed down the strange call in the first place, even Shadow had noticed. And hadn't it gotten weaker every time afterward? And hadn't Neguuma said he'd experienced something similar? Every time he had been in contact with Lupa they would get zapped and the signal would get weaker. That was it, he was sure of it.

He was nodding, a smile spreading across his face as it seemed it was him and not Lupa who had changed. He abruptly clenched his fist in determination, stopping the unfamiliar rubbing notion. She could still be okay. "Yeah. I think that's it. That must be what made it weaker."

Neguuma slowly nodded as well, a satisfied smile slowly forming on his lips as well. "Of course. Prolonged contact weakens it. A common reaction, different from my own, but I didn't know it could extend for this long. The more you are in contact with her, the weaker you attachment becomes, until it is gone altogether. Is this not so?"

Sonic nodded again, then frowned as a troubling thought came to him. The last time he had 'contacted' her had been forced, and by far the most painful. He remembered seeing the orange wolf hanging lifelessly from those floating, silver rings, still as a corpse. Had it been too much at one time?

"So when Slyss… made us… contact, I guess," he stared slowly, unsure how to put it. The memory was still fuzzy, and made him shiver as he tried to follow it. "What, exactly, happened? Was it… too much, or something?"

Neguuma blinked. "I'm surprised you remember that. What Slyss did was much stronger than simple contact, which was why the results were so… traumatic."

Sonic shuddered, the image of the red and orange liquids dripping down the walls of the beige room, as well as that of his own blood-caked arm making his stomach turn. He could still smell it; the sickening stench of spilled blood burned in his nostrils even in this peaceful place.

"He subjected you to the purest form of her energy," the alien continued. "Simple contact only gives you to access to the excess energy that usually comes off as a glow. Those rings, however, were specifically designed to take the energy from deep within her and release it into her surroundings. Or, in this case, at you. The sudden exposure to that amount of pure, concentrated Chaos energy was too much for you to take at one time. You were lucky to have survived."

"I've used all seven Chaos Emeralds before, and nothing like that's ever happened, except that I turn Super."

Neguuma's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? That must have been what kept you alive, then. You're used to it."

"Yeah, but is Lupa?"

The reptilian eyes narrowed icily and silently reminded him what that name meant. But before he could correct himself, Neguuma did for him. "_Mitzika_ has lived with a Chaos Emerald inside of her, and is subjected daily to its energy. However, she's quite conservative about her powers, and is not used to using them that way, or with that intensity. It did do some damage, but she came out of that room in better shape than you did."

Sonic nodded, but was staring down at his arms with a confounded expression. He had just noticed how damaged he _wasn't_. There was no sign of any kind of scar on him (recent ones anyway) and he felt… good. As if he hadn't recently come out of an alien torture chamber and had almost been literally torn apart.

"Umm… Why am I… okay?" he hesitantly asked the alien.

"You were repaired."

"…Repaired." he repeated flatly. It wasn't question. He stared up at Neguuma cautiously.

"Do you remember how you came here in the first place?"

"Uh, no. I was kinda unconscious after getting tossed around by that robot. Was that really you?"

"Yes. We confiscated it from the human when we brought him here and Slyss decided to test its usefulness on you."

"Huh. Eggman was telling the truth for once. That's a first."

"Do you remember how you were brought here?" repeated Neguuma.

"No, I told you, I had just gotten beaten up by that robot." he grunted in annoyance. He didn't like to admit it. He fervently hoped that Robotnik wasn't listening to this somehow. The evil doctor didn't need to know how the robot had scooped him up and tossed him into a wall like it was a simple game. How it had completely turned his own counterattack against him, slamming him back into the wall the same way he himself would have swatted a fly. How he had fallen all the way down to the ground… with the wind knocked out of him… unable to get back up… and gotten buried… alive… under at least a ton… of rocks…

_Oh._

He immediately glanced down at his legs, afraid that now that he remembered the bloody, twisted shape they had been in afterward, they would just give way. But they didn't. They looked as good as new; even the scars he was positive had run up the lengths of them were gone. And, now that he thought about it, how had they been fixed in the first place? His head was spinning. This was _creepy_. This was _impossible. _There was no way this could have possibly happened. What in the world was going on?

"Try your face."

He stared at Neguuma, heart pumping into overdrive. The alien watched him with a calm expression and slowly brushed his claws along his own cheek. Sonic mirrored the motion numbly, not even thinking to do otherwise. The skin was smooth, the fur clean and everything where it was supposed to be.

His eyes went impossibly wide. _The scars were gone!_ He distinctly remembered when Slyss had lashed that whip across his face and sent him tumbling back with nothing to show from his attack but a bleeding cheek. And it had also opened up previous wounds from when a clawed hand had torn through the thin skin there, narrowly missing his eye. Now the series of scars were gone, as if they had never been there. He felt the other cheek immediately in case he had been mistaken about which side the wounds were on, but found it in the same state: perfectly smooth and void of any kind of injury.

He looked up at Neguuma, desperate for answers. The alien stared back gently. "The robot brought you here nearly dead. It seems you don't go down easily," he told him, purring softly, obviously trying for a joke. Sonic continued to stare back, not amused.

Neguuma continued with a sigh. "Our technology is quite superior to yours in many areas, including medicine. We have found ways to accelerate a body's natural healing process, sometimes replacing the vital components of life such as blood, bone marrow or skin with synthetic substitutes when necessary. We call this repairing."

Sonic stared at him, speechless. He could not believe what he as hearing.

"Since your bodies are much faster at repairing themselves than ours, we were able to combine our repair stations with your already naturally quick recovering process to almost completely erase any kind of evidence that we have done anything to you at all."

Sonic's mouth was dry. "W… why?" he managed to croak. "Why would they bother to do that? Don't you… Don't they want me dead?"

"No. Slyss doesn't. And that's what matters."

"W-what? Why not? I thought he hated me." He let out a nervous chuckle, anything to release the tension and lighten the mood. "I mean, standing up to an evil tyrant and foiling his diabolical schemes are usually the kind of things that put me in their bad books."

"It is… difficult to explain. We are trying to avoid an interplanetary war and-"

"WHAT?!" Sonic exploded. Then he nearly doubled over in hysterics. This was just too much. All the stress over the last few days that he thought he had been handling so well suddenly snapped free of his control and shook him to the core.

"That's ridicu… that's incred…" he gasped between bouts of uncontrollable laughter. Tears of mirth were streaming down his face as he struggled for breath, and he could barely remain standing. His sides hurt a lot, and every breath seemed too big for his lungs. He didn't know why he was laughing, really. It was all just so _impossible. _"That's the biggest load of trash I've ever heard!" he finally managed. "You don't… you don't actually expect me to believe…"

"Why else do you think you're being kept alive?"

The flat, direct honesty in Neguuma's statement helped calm the hysterical hedgehog down. He had a point. He managed to take a number of deep breaths, and after a few shaky giggles managed to get his shoulders to stop shaking and his heartbeat to return to a normal rate.

"B-but why?" he finally asked when he had regained control of himself. "I don't get it."

The reptile stared down at his claws briefly and then closed his fist. "Like I said, it is difficult to explain. There is a method to his madness, believe it or not, and you must understand where he's coming from to see it." He paused. "And you must see it, because even though I've shown Mitzika, she may not do what she needs to. She needs someone else to know what's going on and remind her why she's doing what she's doing. Why it's worth the effort."

Sonic nodded and then took a shaky breath to calm himself. "Alright. I'm listening. I think you were talking about her getting stronger?"

Neguuma nodded, his mind back on track. "Yes. And then we touched. That was what started it. See, where your connection gets weaker with prolonged contact, ours gets stronger, becoming refreshed anew every time. And where you respond physically, initiating an energy surge between the two of you, ours is much gentler. It's an emotional reaction, one where we not only exchange languages, but also granted me _feelings_."

"Feelings?" Sonic repeated, cocking his head to one side.

He nodded again. "You see, we Négriss don't feel emotions like you do. We like to think of ourselves as superior in might and intelligence, but culturally speaking, we're quite primitive. Almost feral."

Sonic snorted. _You got that right,_ he thought, but gestured for Neguuma to continue.

"We only feel the basest of emotions. As such, we aren't very open minded. Not like you, anyway. But with that one touch, I began to see everything differently." He paused and smiled softly, purring softly. "There weren't just results anymore, there was a process, and consequences that ranged far beyond immediate relevancy. What we were doing affected _lives_, and none more so than hers."

Sonic frowned. "You only noticed that then?"

His smile became tighter, and Sonic could only describe the forced and regretful grin as sheepish. "Yes. I was for the most part a perfect soldier, attitude wise. Of course, my specialty was in R&D, and as such, my mindset was similar to that of a computer. And with Slyss as my supervisor…" he trailed off.

"You were pretty much a tiny version of him," Sonic finished for him.

"Yes. That was why that touch was so significant. It completely altered my way of thinking, and my mind had been opened to see more than just outside the laboratory. It _changed_ me."

He shook his head fondly before continuing. "We had observed the social dependence the life here tended to demonstrate. Those who lived in recluse would succumb to both physical and psychological ailments that would rarely if ever occur in populated areas. It was me who suggested we return Mitzika to her family. I implied to Slyss that he would achieve much greater results if she was to grow up among her own kind rather than with us; an alien race to whom she could never relate. So after a series of discussions, we went against protocol and began the search for the family that had abandoned her. If it was a small peasant dwelling, we could properly observe her with minimal if indeed any consequences."

He frowned. "Unfortunately, it turned out that not only was her family of high class, but they were also royalty. There was no way we could sneak in and out with their daughter without everyone knowing about her. And us."

"And that would be bad?" guessed Sonic.

"The worst. Our orders were to _observe_ only. We don't mix well with other cultures, call it a flaw of ours, and the ones growing here had so much potential we didn't want to influence it in any way. However, Slyss is not one to be deterred when he wants something, and he used his most persuasive and tactful measures to somehow gain permission to go through with this insane project."

"Project?" repeated Sonic with a frown. Didn't they realize that they were playing with lives here?

"That's all it was at the time. Nobody suspected it would snowball into something so huge in such a short time. Not even when we actually went ahead with it and made contact directly with the royal family. That was when it really started going downhill."

He frowned suddenly. "Never have I met such an ungrateful, greedy collection of _m'reetha_," he started, growling the last word in his own language with such hatred that Sonic was thankful he hadn't translated it. "We had naturally assumed that we would be immediately rejected and would only be tolerated by the act of returning their daughter to them in good health. But the opposite was true. Slyss brought the Chaos Emeralds as well for study and comparison between them and the child, as well as for other research. Mitzika's father understood them to be a gift and made an alliance with us based on this. Meanwhile, he was completely repulsed by what we had turned his daughter into and only accepted her back to avoid offending us."

Sonic shook his head in disbelief. "Didn't they care at all?"

"Not for her. And they only grew to hate her more as the years passed. She developed at a normal rate physically, but her mind was far ahead of the young body that housed it. She began to develop powers too, which she wasn't able to control at first, and pushed her even farther away from her family and society. As such, she had nowhere to turn to but to us, and Slyss was more than happy to take charge over her, as that was the originally intended plan anyway. So he appointed himself as her trainer, while creating the impression that he was taking orders from her father, which was accepted without issue. He began exercising her powers, teaching her to control them, stretching them to their limits even from the very start. Perfection was his standard. He would not tolerate failure, she learned that quickly. She learned everything quickly."

A distant smile spread across his face, and his voice took on a dreamy tone. "I had never before seen in any world, nor will I again, anybody as incredible as Mitzika. She would understand everything instantly, and then never forget it. She would master a skill in a fraction of the time it would take even the most gifted warriors to."

His expression suddenly turned regretful, and his voice took on an icy, bitter edge. "But she was never praised for her progress, and when I would try to, she would immediately reject it and list every little thing she did done wrong. Everything Slyss told her she'd done wrong.

"I loathed his methods, but there was nothing I could do without making the situation worse," he continued, shaking his head with a sigh. "So I tried to console her instead, as did Rregnis. She had no one else to turn to, so we spent what little free time we had together. And the more time we spent together, the stronger my growing emotions became. Especially towards her. I began to understand her in a way I had never understood anything else before. I could never leave her without learning something new. Because of her, I finally realized that what Slyss was doing was wrong.

"After sixteen years of this, Slyss had concluded that it was prime time to reap the benefits of his experiment. He would take her back to our planet, harvest the emerald out of her, and then perform a myriad of other tests until she no longer proved useful."

Sonic's fists clenched in fury at Slyss's heartlessness. How could they just treat her like an item to be used and then thrown away? It wasn't right at all, nothing about it was. And how could Neguuma just stand in front of him and report it like it was nothing? But then when he glanced at the alien, he noticed the fiery gaze staring down at his bared claws, silently seething as hotly as he himself was. There was no doubt about it now, not in those eyes that were brimming with regret, hatred, frustration, disgust, sorrow, despair and yet determination. Neguuma was against Slyss, and willing to do anything it took to help out a friend where he had previously failed.

"That's what Slyss is doing now, isn't it?" he asked.

The passionate alien met his eyes. "Precisely. He wants the other emeralds as well, but he's starting with her."

"He's still after her after six thousand years? What's his problem? I mean, doesn't he have a life?"

"Not outside of this, not anymore. His work had always been inseparable from his life, but even I could see that this obsession with her was nowhere near normal, even for him. So I managed to get into his notes and found his observations. It obtained data from everything we had done to her and everything she had accomplished. He had painstakingly taken the time to organize everything, and put everything in terms of development and energy growth. It told me everything.

"He had found out that his main theory had been right, and as she had grown stronger, so had the emerald inside of her. If it were removed properly and put back with the others, their energy, after rebalancing themselves, would reach unheard of levels. He had also noted possible uses for this extra energy, the majority of which included powering weapons of mass destruction, or creating bioweapons."

"Bioweapons?" The word sounded familiar, but in a very science-fictiony way.

"Life forms that are specifically bred for destruction," explained Neguuma. "Usually more effective than machines, because their intelligence allows them to make decisions that computers can't, usually survival based so they last longer. They are more unpredictable that way. Mitzika had become one after Slyss's training, and he had plans for other, far more effective ones that would obey without question, and kill without any kind of negative psychological effect."

_Shadow._ The connection clicked in Sonic's mind. Not that Shadow was evil, but he had made some questionable decisions (aka; violent, murderous rampages through major cities with a gun in one hand and a Chaos Emerald in the other) before. But what if someone made an army of Shadows, and they had much less hesitation to kill (not that Shadow had a whole lot, but he generally had a good reason; usually vengeance related) and they all took orders from one person, and one alone?

He was constantly fighting against a similar army, but destroying a horde of Eggman's robots was much, _much_ different than fighting the Ultimate Lifeform. Not only was Shadow physically stronger than him, but he could use Chaos powers at will. And what if there was an uncountable number of them? And the one person in control was Slyss…?

Neguuma was continuing. "He had also taken note of how her father ruled with nearly unquestioned authority, had observed flaws in his methods and had come up with solutions to them, thereby 'perfecting' the system. He had also theorized ways to possibly prolong our lifespans using this newfound connection between the emeralds and life. It was only a matter of putting the pieces together to see what his master plan was."

Sonic stared straight back at him. "He wants to take over Mobius."

The alien nodded. And Négrim our planet. And any other he can get his claws on."

Sonic remained quiet for a while, letting this information sink in. If all of this was true, then they would have to act fast to stop this monster who was willing to do everything possible to get whatever he wanted. He would doubtless enslave everyone on Mobius, and kill those he couldn't. These dinosaur-like aliens would rule with an iron fist over all they oversaw, and there would be no one able to stop them.

He frowned thoughtfully. He still wasn't too sure he could trust the nonconformist alien with the tribal tattoo on his face. He had to be absolutely sure he could trust him if indeed more of his kind was planning to take over.

"Answer me this, Neguuma. If Slyss is planning on taking over, and you were one of his officers, then why so you wanna stop him so bad? Isn't that what you want?" he asked, carefully watching the alien's response.

The lizard straightened to his full height, which wasn't much more than Sonic's, and looked him in the eye. "If how he treated Mitzika was any indication of how he plans on ruling us, then, no. I don't stand with him. I don't even stand with my own race, who will also suffer under his reign. I stand with Mitzika. Though he taught her how to fight and kill and do it efficiently, and gave her every reason to enjoy it, she only grew to hate it more and more. Through her, my mind was opened to more than just my own perspective, and I learned how valuable life truly is. She understands so much about life, and cares about all forms it takes. I must stop Slyss because she loves life too much."

He looked away with tears shimmering in his whiteless, blue eyes. "…And I love her too much," he finished quietly.

Sonic's jaw hit the ground. Had he heard right? "Y-you luh… love… her?" he stammered, completely overcome with shock.

Neguuma looked back at him with a meaningful smile. "More than anything. I would walk the distance from her to Négrim to see her smile. And back again to hear her laugh," he replied as the smile turned dreamy. Then the blue eyes twinkled in amusement. "Weren't expecting that, were you?"

Sonic could only let out a weak laugh of amazement. It was the last thing he would have expected from one of these heartless creatures. But then, Neguuma wasn't one of them. There was absolutely no denying the honesty in his statement, or the number of layers of emotion in every word. He had meant it.

He smirked and cocked his head on one side curiously. "So, uh… does she… know?"

"Of course. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew before I did. Especially with that ability of hers to read emotions."

"She can read emotions?" he repeated incredulously. What other mind-blowing information could he possibly learn today?

Neguuma looked over at him with a puzzled expression. "You mean you didn't know? Obviously not, judging from your reaction. She's particularly sensitive about that particular ability, so I suppose that fits."

"What do you mean?"

"She feels every other of her abilities serves a specific purpose. Her fine tuned senses and ability to jump through time and space, as well as create force fields at will helps her in combat. Her gain of languages through contact increases her ability to communicate. But she couldn't see a useful purpose for reading emotions, aside from avoiding those in a bad mood. It just provided one more reason for people to avoid her."

"But that's not… there's gotta be a use for it," argued Sonic.

"There is. She may not realize it, but it lets her know who she can trust. Like you. The only reason she's stayed with you for this long is because you must be a trustworthy person. She wouldn't have let you near her otherwise. That's why I've come to you for help."

Sonic smiled. "A friend of hers is a friend of mine," he told him honestly.

Naguuma smiled back. "Do you trust me now?" he asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. You're cool."

"Good. Thank you. I suppose we should discuss our course of action now, then," he said. He flexed his claws and wiggled them off to the side. A few seconds later, Dr. Robotnik appeared, slowly forming as if he had been broken into a million particles and was only now just coming back together.

He stumbled forward awkwardly once he could move again, and took his bearings of his new surroundings. When he noticed who else was in the room with him, he frowned in annoyance. "Oh. You again. I should've known that was your doing," he grumbled. "I suppose you trust the alien now after your little discussion?"

Sonic glared at him. "He's not with Slyss. He's going to help us, and we're going to help him."

The doctor snorted. "Oh really? Just like that? And why do you think I'm going to follow along with that?"

"Because by doing so you'll be helping yourself," Neguuma answered him. "All you have to do is just as I said before: break out of here. I'll get you out of this room and you find your way out. Isn't that what you would have done anyway?"

Robotnik growled, not willing to put an ounce of trust in any alien, least of all the one who was now apparently Sonic's new best friend. No way.

"Don't think of it as helping me. Think of it as getting back at the one who put you in here in the first place."

The human glowered at the lizard, but said nothing. He had met that Slyss character face to face before he had sent him to this place. If there was one creature he would love to see lying in a pool of its own hideous, yellow blood, it was him. He had seen the lust for power in its shining, golden eyes, and knew exactly what he planned to ultimately accomplish by coming here: he shared his own goal of complete domination. There was only room for one supreme ruler in this world, and he was not about to let some outsider from a billion light-years away take it all away from him. Especially not some reptilian freak who thought he could just walk in and take over the place. No, that lizard had messed with the wrong mad scientist.

Sonic took the dark smile that had slowly and maliciously spread across the man's face as a cross between a 'yes I'll help!' and 'fresh meat!' and decided that he would be a shaky-ally-who-would-inevitably-stab-him-in-the-ba ck-at-some-point at best. He had to keep an eye on him if he was really going to be working with them. He turned to Neguuma. "Looks like we're in. So we just find a way out of here, right?"

The alien nodded. "Precisely. Make as much noise as possible, too; the louder the better."

Sonic smiled wryly. "You won't have to be worried about noise, but it won't be us making it."

"Good. Meanwhile, I'll release Mitzika and with your escape causing chaos, we should be able to make it out in one piece."

"Right. Then what?" asked Sonic with a frown. "Where are we anyway?"

"Not far from where we found you, actually. This entire pod is strategically located inside one of the canyon walls of the Neversame Canyon. Once you get out, find a spot to wait for us somewhere nearby. We'll rendezvous and make our next move then."

"All right. So are you gonna give us a signal, or something?"

Neguuma flashed him a toothy smile. "Oh, don't worry about that. You'll know," he said knowingly.

"…Right," Sonic said somewhat uneasily.

"So that's it, then?" Robotnik asked with a raised eyebrow, having finished his evil internal monologue.

"I suppose so. I… I can't thank you enough for your help," said Neguuma with a grateful smile at Sonic. "Thank you for believing me."

"Sure. No problem," returned Sonic with a cheerful thumbs up. "You're the one busting out outta here, remember?"

"Hm," the alien mumbled distantly.

A breeze blew through the branches overhead with a gentle _hush_ like a lullaby, as if convincing everyone present that everything was going to be okay. The filtered sunlight broke through gaps in the leaves and focused a fluctuating pattern of small but bright blotches on the scaly face. They illuminated the wild, tribal design around his eyes, the eyes that were compassionate, and full of zealous passion toward the one he obviously cared so much about. There was distant memory and regret just under the surface of shimmering unshed tears. The bizarre, untamed pattern of yellow streaks could not mask the undeniable presence of a tender, caring soul beneath.

He stared down thoughtfully for a few seconds before looking back at Sonic pensively. "Actually, there is one more thing. I… I know this a lot to ask, but…" he started slowly, hesitating a beat for pushing on. "Mitzika needs… companionship. She's been alone her entire life, with only myself and Rregnis to turn to. The ones she should have been able to trust, her family, only rejected and abused her. And Slyss, of course…" he trailed off again as there was no need to continue any further.

His gaze suddenly turned pleading. "If you truly are her friend, then you must never abandon her in any way. She has been damaged far too many times already, and I'm afraid that… despite the strong level of tolerance she's built up for herself… there's only so much… she can take," he slowly explained.

Sonic stared back into the imploring eyes that were waiting anxiously for his response and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I don't ignore friends," he told him.

His face suddenly drained of color and his breath caught in his throat as he remembered his own friends. Tails, Knuckles and Amy were still somewhere out there, perhaps lost in the winding maze of the Neversame Canyon. Or, even worse, somewhere in this prison at the mercy of Slyss and his minions with no way of escape. What if they had been experimented on, too? What if Slyss hadn't decided to fix them afterwards? _Why haven't you thought about this sooner?! _he mentally screamed at himself.

He gripped Neguuma's shoulders firmly, knowing that the only hope for an answer was literally right before him. "You haven't seen them have you? My friends?" he asked desperately.

Neguuma was blinking rapidly, for the first time seeming completely uncertain about what he was supposed to say. "Wh-who?" he finally sputtered. "Wha-wha-what do they look like?"

"A yellow fox with two tails. A pink hedgehog with a hammer. And a red echidna. Where are they, do you know?"

In the background, Robotnik was shaking his head and chuckling darkly under his breath, muttering amusedly about irony and abrupt changes. He was ignored.

The alien shook his head. "They aren't here. You two and Mitzika are the only prisoners here, and that number is soon to change to zero." He paused in thought for a few moments before meeting Sonic's gaze again. "I believe we left them back in the canyon. As far as I know, they're still there."

"Are they okay?" pressed Sonic, his last memories he had of them once again flashing before his eyes. He dug his fingers into the scaly shoulders until Neguuma winced with pain. "Were they… hurt?" he asked, terrified to find out if they were anything worse.

The alien's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, obviously choosing his words carefully. Sonic waited with bated breath until the blue eyes stared back at him again.

"I am… unsure as to the extent of the injuries your friends took in that battle, but if they're anything like you, then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about," he tried to assure him, but his voice was slightly strained.

Sonic released the breath he'd been holding and at the same time let go of the lizard's shoulders, nodding slowly. But why had he hesitated to tell him that? Was he holding back information to make it easier on him? Did he feel the truth was too much for him to handle? His expression hardened. He had to know the truth, as terrifying as it might be.

"But… were any of them…" he started, but his throat closed up. He tried again. "Were they all… accounted for?" His voice had risen to a high, desperate pitch, his heart pounding as he braced himself for what might have been worse than the worst case scenario he could imagine.

Neguuma took a slow breath before answering. "I can't say. I was not permitted to see the battle. But don't lose hope," he added hastily as Sonic's face crumpled in despair. "Slyss is actually trying to avoid causing death, lest a war should break out. Neither side can afford a war of this scale, and causing it will cost him the support of the _ree'shkez_, something which is far too valuable and has taken him far too long to achieve to risk."

Eggman suddenly interrupted with a snort. "Avoid war? Ha! Don't think you can so easily deceive me, alien. I know precisely what that serpent wants, and with all the resources he has at his disposal, a war is precisely what he needs to achieve it."

"Not without the _ree'shkez._"

"The _what_?"

The _ree'shkez_. A council of rulers that governs our entire world. I know you missed the details, but his plans aren't limited to here. He wants loyal followers when he returns to Négrim, something he can't attain through rebellion. He needs that loyalty to ensure unquestioned control. If there's going to be a war, he wants it to look like it was your fault."

Now it was Sonic's turn to laugh. "Heh. Well that's gonna be kinda hard, considering he attacked us first."

Neguuma glanced at him sharply. "If there's one thing Slyss excels at, it's distorting the truth and twisting even the most concrete facts to meet his purposes. Even with Mitzika's unequalled memory that can recall even the minutest detail of any event, she believes his lies. She knows the truth, but he warps it so skillfully that even she doubts herself."

"So, you mean he can use Lu-er, Mitzika's 'theft' of the Chaos Emeralds as an excuse to attack us?"

"I mean he can call his invasion a strive for justice, and then if and when you defend yourselves, call it unprovoked opposition to such a righteous cause and not only have us believe it, but you as well by the time this gets underway. And I'm almost certain that's exactly what he's doing, too."

"Ha! Yeah, right! As if he could actually make us believe that!"

"It seems perfectly reasonable to me," interjected Robotnik as he examined his gloved hand calmly. "I can get you and your little friends to believe anything I want with almost no effort. Just mention the Chaos Emeralds and you're eating out of the palm of my hand."

"Hey!" Sonic whirled on him so fast, Neguuma had to take a step back to stop himself from being blown over by the wind the motion had caused. "You're the one who keeps on believing that breaking loose super powerful monsters of destruction will somehow give you full control over them. Have you lost count of how many times I've had to save your sorry life from something you started in the first place?"

The doctor's eyes narrowed to slits behind his round glasses. "That was because of a slight underestimation on my part-"

"Five times."

Robotnik was now shaking with frustration. "Look, hedgehog! Just because I've made slight miscalculations in the past-"

"Over and over again."

"…it does not mean that I am gullible enough to believe that any of these aliens are our allies!"

"Neguuma's different!"

"As much as I appreciate you standing up for me, I am not the one who gave the order for your repair. That was Slyss," said Neguuma calmly.

Sonic turned to him, just now remembering he was still there. "Yeah. I think you might have mentioned that already. Something about erasing evidence?"

"If you return unharmed, it will further prove our coming was in peace, making your inevitable counter strike an unprovoked attack."

"Well, considering he pretty much almost killed me out of sheer spite, I wouldn't call any of his actions peaceful."

Neguuma smiled crookedly. "You weren't supposed to remember that. You were given a mild amnesiac during the process to make you think we had saved you from the desert. I'm willing to bet that you still can't remember it completely."

He couldn't. And as much as it annoyed him, he was pretty grateful for that.

"That means there is still hope for your friends," he continued. "He is avoiding conflict, especially concerning death, so he wouldn't go out of his way to kill them."

Sonic sighed in relief. _They're alive. They're gonna be okay._ Then he noticed that Neguuma was staring down at his feet and twiddling his claws with an expression that clearly showed inner conflict.

"I… I must be honest with you though," he started, slowly raising his eyes to meet Sonic's. "Since this area is rarely visited by anyone, and the landscape has been known to change drastically in a matter of hours, then if they were killed it would be days, weeks, perhaps even months before they would be found, if they were ever found at all. So, what I mean is, though Slyss wouldn't have gone out of his way to kill them… it does not necessarily… guarantee that they were… spared," he finished slowly. "I cannot give you hope that may or may not exist just to have it later shattered by the truth. I-I'm sorry."

With thoughts of his closest friends echoing through his mind – their laughter, their care, their strength – he closed his eyes and turned his head away from the doubting words. "No. They're alive," he said, looking back at Neguuma with unwavering determination. "I know they are."

He nodded with a smile of admiration. "If they're half as strong as you are, then they must be."

"Well, well. You two really are buddy-buddy, aren't you?" Robotnik interrupted again, obviously unimpressed by the touching scene. "It seems that's what we all are; just a gaggle of friends joined together in these difficult times by the unbreakable bonds of trust. How lovely." Every word dripped with sarcasm as he put one hand over his heart as though he were truly touched there, and the other up to his face to wipe away an imaginary tear.

Then his voice dropped to a serious growl of accusation. "Well, tell me this, 'friend'," he started, layering the last word with enough venom to put a king cobra to shame. "If you are indeed against Slyss, and if you're so determined to help that wolf girl, then how is it that you all came here together at the same time, after six thousand years and not earlier?"

"What? What does that have to do with anything?" demanded Sonic.

"He's obviously very intelligent, and must have a lot of mechanical skills to be able to do all he's been able to. Sending me into that desert, for one thing. And all right under Slyss's nose." He arched an eyebrow as a triumphant smirk spread across his face. "Pretty crafty of you, alien. I don't think you're quite as innocent as you make yourself out to be. Why is it that you and Slyss are here together, now after all this time?"

A heavy silence fell over the group for a few long seconds, human and hedgehog watching Neguuma, waiting for an answer. The scaly lips were pulled into a tense, thin line over his sharp teeth and his gaze was hard and distant. His only movement was a slight twitching of his tail. This was obviously a topic he had wanted to avoid, and now that it had come up he was unsure how to follow through with it.

Finally, he sighed deeply. "…That would be my doing. After learning of Slyss's plans concerning Mitzika, I realized that the only way to give her any kind of a chance was to hide her away until he was no longer a threat to anybody, least of all her. So I secretly designed a capsule for her that would keep her alive until that time came to be."

"Cryogenics," concluded Robotnik.

Neguuma nodded. "We had already developed the technology for such capsules, but they wouldn't work properly for much longer than a couple of our lifetimes, which are only about half as long as yours. There were a number of reasons as to why, but it basically came down to the fact that our bodies require a certain amount of constant energy transfer to stay alive. Every kind of life does. The cryogenics capsule freezes a body and prevents any kind of energy from flowing in and out of it, resulting in either brain damage, organ failure or death. However, Mitzika already has enough energy inside of her to keep her alive for an uncountable number of years. My brother Rregnis and I were able to combine our mechanical abilities and finally created a capsule for her that would cycle that energy she already possesses and compensate for the lack of energy transfer that would normally happen. It would work, we were sure of it, but only if certain circumstances were met. The emeralds had to be balanced."

"Whaddya mean balanced?" wondered Sonic. It was difficult to follow along with all the science stuff, but he had spent enough time with Tails to know how to follow the basics of something important while tuning out technobabble.

"Mitzika's escape was not the only thing that upset Slyss. As soon as we had enclosed Mitzika in the capsule, a Chaos Control was activated that scattered the emeralds all across the planet. We would have collected them without hesitation, but their location wasn't the only thing that had changed."

He looked between his audience members questioningly. "When she was released, you noticed an energy change with the Chaos Emeralds, yes?"

They both nodded in affirmation. "Oh yeah. Definitely," agreed Sonic, recalling the moment she was released and the overpowering urge to follow her had begun. Head it really only been two days ago? It seemed like an eternity.

"They've been causing interference in the atmosphere," added Robotnik. "They're becoming increasingly unstable by the hour."

"Oh, yeah. Tails said something like that yesterday. Interference, or something?" guessed Sonic. He actually had forgotten all about it, especially with an alien invasion on the go. He hadn't really deemed it very important in the first place, but after all the information he had gotten from Neguuma today, he realized it might not be the wisest idea to put it off any longer.

"Know something about it, alien?"

"Before they were brought here, the Chaos Emeralds had been in our possession for generations," he began to explain. "They were, in brief, as they are now: unstable and unpredictable, surging and weakening at random intervals. With eight emeralds in their system, the energy is unable to settle in one place for any period of time. It is constantly fluctuating from one to another, sometimes leaving the system entirely to flow within that of the planet. Only when the _Y'altu_ sets a natural control over them and brings them into a stable balance."

"The what?" blurted Robotnik.

"My apologies. The _Y'altu _is the Master; a larger, and by far more powerful stone than the others that has its own special qualities that relate to, but are not the same as those of the other emeralds. You know of it, yes?" the lizard asked

Sonic smiled. Considering its Guardian was one of his closest friends (though the echidna would never _ever_ admit it in any way), and he had visited the floating island where it was hidden a number of times, he probably knew quite a bit more about it than most anyone else. As for Robotnik… well, if you counted the numerous times he'd tried to steal it for his own diabolical purposes as knowing of it, it was fairly safe to say he had a pretty good idea as to what it was and what it could do.

"Yeah. We know it."

He nodded. "Our instruments were accustomed to the erratic behavior of the emeralds, and knew that they would only stabilize when surrounding the Master. However, when she was sealed away, she absorbed all of the excess energy they would constantly transfer to one another and became frozen in the capsule, completely isolated from their system. At that instant, the unimaginable happened. It would seem that when there are only seven of them in their system, without any excess energy to move around, their energy stabilizes and they attain a permanent balance that does not require the Master to maintain."

"Which is how they are now," concluded Robotnik. "Or, at least before all this began happening."

Neguuma nodded again. "They had aligned themselves into an entirely different system of energy. Our instruments could no longer read them, or track them without coming to the planet's surface, which we were forbade to do until we were certain we could find them again due to Slyss's actions. Not even his most persuasive tactics could convince them otherwise."

"So you were stuck," summed up Sonic.

"Many thought so. But Slyss is no fool. He knew that I had had a hand in Mitzika's capsule and that I would be his only chance at finding her again, and perhaps recovering the others, as well. So after some… discussions, we came to a compromise in which I would only offer my assistance in finding her again if I were allowed to come with him. He agreed."

"What? How could you-?" Sonic started to ask, when the pale blue eyes dropped shamefully and the scaly shoulders shuddered violently. Something was wrong here. A clawed hand slowly traced a thin, yellow streak that ran up along the creature's arm before it gingerly wrapped around its shoulder, resulting in a protective half-hug. Looking closely he noticed the yellow streaks on his face were a very distinctive shade. One that he had seen before recently; a sulphrous, mustard colour that really stood out against the dark scales. When he had fought the creatures in the city, a liquid of that colour would seep from the wounds he and Shadow had inflicted upon them. It was their blood.

These streaks weren't natural markings, or even tattoos, they were scars; wounds that had been opened and reopened so many times the skin had become permanently discoloured and scarred. And the tough armor of scales, he had read somewhere, were harder to scar than simple, soft flesh. Someone would have had to dig deep to leave marks that prominent and lasting. And as for those bizarre patterns…

_Maybe these "discussions" were a bit more intense than he implied, _he thought with a shudder. Especially since he already knew firsthand what Slyss could and would do to someone he thought might become trouble, never mind what he might do to a huge, proven problem.

Neguuma sighed regretfully. "I developed two similar capsules for us that were set to automatically open at the same time Mitzika's would. That took years to get right. So he left instructions that were to be carried out upon his return, and then he and I waited, frozen in time until that fateful day Mitzika was finally released."

"You sure didn't waste any time getting here," commented Sonic.

"But why didn't he just kill you once he got what he wanted?" wondered Robotnik.

"He hasn't got it yet. Perhaps he thinks I can still be of use to him. He has his reasons, though. He has a thoroughly planned out reason for everything he does, don't think he doesn't."

"So there was a reason he destroyed her home?" countered Sonic.

He winced at the painful memory. "When her parents refused to give her up, despite his best efforts, he decided that if they wouldn't give her to him, he would dig her out of the ashes of her city. That way, we would leave no cultural impact on the planet."

Sonic snorted humorlessly. "No, just a huge crater."

"I tried to encourage her to escape before something so drastic took place, explaining everything to her, but she refused to abandon her family, despite the way they had treated her all her life. She insisted that we get them to safety while she stayed behind to try and protect the city somehow. It was madness, and I did everything I could to dissuade her, but there was no changing her mind."

He paused for a moment after he said this, and purred a soft laugh. "It's funny. She won't stand up for herself, but she'll face death alone for those she cares about."

As Neguuma shook his head fondly, Sonic thought about all Lupa had done to try to keep everyone away from these creatures, and out of Slyss's grasp. She had hid any kind of information about these creatures from them, begged them not to get involved, and pushed them away from her both figuratively and literally. Everything she had done was an effort to keep them out of the mess that was her life, and out of Slyss's diabolical plans.

_She'll face death alone…_ Neguuma had hit that nail right on the head.

"I made certain her family was safe with Rregnis before I went back for her," he continued. "He had the hibernation capsule with him, and I also put in his care the Chaos Emeralds that we had managed to get away from Slyss, so that he could not use them against us. I was too late, though, and arrived just in time to watch Slyss fire the laser from our orbiting ship. Her shield shattered like glass, and the entire area exploded, laying everything to the ground in a matter of seconds."

Sonic flinched at the alien's description. He had seen that before in the series of memories that he had somehow obtained when she had been released, but from a different angle. What he saw must have been through her eyes, which explained the absolute terror and pain he had felt as well. Things were finally starting to make sense.

"I have no idea how long it took, but I finally managed to find her under the rubble, unbelievably still in one piece. I can only assume she managed to shield herself as a subconscious means of survival. We left to meet up with the others, and had only just made it when Slyss and his army caught up to us. We knew there was no chance for an escape this time, so we set up the capsule and the emeralds as our last chance. But in order for it to work the way we needed it to, it needed time to prepare. I provided that time. I went out to face Slyss."

He frowned. "I still don't know why he didn't immediately kill me as he had the rest of her family, but he didn't. Perhaps he felt I could still be of use to him. Whatever the reason, he left me alive long enough to hopefully buy the time needed for Mitzika's escape before he knocked me unconscious." He turned to Sonic with a weary, half- amused smile. "I suppose it worked, didn't it?"

Sonic smirked. "Just like this plan will," he said encouragingly. "If they want me back in here, they're gonna have to catch me first."

"Don't let them," he warned. "They will not show mercy."

"Hey, I'm the fastest thing alive! I'd like to see 'em try and keep up with me!"

Neguuma nodded, then cringed and slapped a hand to his neck painfully. "_Nrrygrsh_! I'm being summoned for the operation. This is it. I must go. Remember, once you leave this room, you're on your own. Good luck… to both of you," he added the last part with a glance at Robotnik who was still standing with his arms folded disapprovingly, not fully convinced by the alien's story.

"Same to you," returned Sonic. "Don't worry about us. Focus on getting Mitzika out of here."

Neguuma regarded Sonic thoughtfully for several seconds. "I can see why she trusts you now," he finally said with a slow nod. "It takes a lot to earn that. Don't let her down."

He nodded back with a smile. "I won't."

The alien extended a six-clawed hand toward the hedgehog. "She needs a loyal friend like you."

The smile widened. "She's got you, doesn't she?"

Emerald eyes met turquoise as the offered hand was accepted, and Mobian and Négriss shook for the first time in over six millennia.

"I'm counting on you, Sonic the Hedgehog," stated Neguuma softly before slowly dissolving into a million pieces that swirled around the small clearing they stood in and finally vanishing into thin air.

"So now we're just supposed to wait for him to let us out?" the human asked cynically.

"I guess so."

"You didn't actually believe his story, did you?"

"Sure I did. It matched up perfectly with Lupa's. Er, I mean, Mitzika's. Man, that name really doesn't suit her," he added in a mutter. But then, now that he knew what 'Lupa' really meant, how could he possibly call her that? Maybe her real name was a bit exotic and fancy, but at least it didn't mean anything negative. _Why did she even give us that name?_ he wondered. _Why didn't she tell us?_

"So you really think we can trust him?" Robotnik questioned in a tone that suggested that even if Neguuma had had taped proof of the incident, he would still refuse to believe it was real.

"He trusts us. Or me, anyway. I wouldn't trust you, either. The whole 'mad scientist' thing you got going kinda discourages that sorta thing."

"Hm," the man grunted in annoyance. Then his expression grew thoughtful. "We're going to have to, though, aren't we?"

"What?" Sonic whirled around to face his nemesis, convinced he hadn't heard right. He was now solely focused on the evil doctor, who was watching him, too, with a half curious, half-annoyed expression.

"If indeed your little scaly friend comes through, we're going to be escaping together. If either of us are going to make it out of here alive, we're going to have to…" He paused with a look of disgusted disbelief on his face, as if his next words had a foul taste to them. "…Work together and help each other out. Especially seeing as how we're going to be under constant attack."

Sonic watched the man carefully for several seconds. Deception was a common tool used by the doctor, especially when he wanted someone to do something for him, and so he analyzed him carefully before making any decisions. His tone had sounded sullen and deflated, as if he had just been thoroughly defeated, and his expression was apprehensive, as though waiting for his response. He looked sincere enough, but he couldn't see into the man's eyes, as they were hidden, as always, behind those dark glasses. He had to tread with caution.

"…Are you suggesting a cease fire?" he asked carefully.

The human inclined his head and nodded slowly, with heavy reluctance. When he looked up again, he seemed like he had finally been defeated once and for all. "Truce?"

_The day I sprout pink wings,_ his brain immediately supplied for him, but he considered the offer carefully first. Eggman had a point; if they were going to have any chance of getting out of this prison, it would require cooperation and teamwork. And they had temporarily joined forces before when things seemed desperate and there was no other choice. And he could still keep an eye on the doctor; just because they weren't at each other's throats didn't mean they were now best friends.

Besides, with an army of aliens running rampant, he would need all the allies he could get, permanent or not.

"Just until this is over," he finally agreed. "And only if you behave yourself," he added with a smirk.

Robotnik looked as though he had been deeply offended. "What, you don't trust me? After all these years? Sonic," he said, shaking his head patronizingly. Then he looked back at him with a determined half-smile. "We have a common enemy. That alone should unite us."

Sonic shrugged and looked away. Robotnik needed him to escape a heck of a lot more than he needed the mad scientist. The scientist would at least refrain from killing him until they were out of the base, and once free, he could handle anything the man could dish out.

"Whatever. For now, anyway," he said as the human's innocent expression twisted into a dark smirk behind the hedgehog's back.

They sat in the deceptively real woods, waiting for Neguuma to release them. Neither of them spoke as there was nothing to say. Impatience soon set in as the minutes ticked by without so much as a sign, and Robotnik began tapping his foot while Sonic paced.

Then, the sky, or whatever it was beyond the ceiling of leaves, suddenly went dark. It was as if Night had decided to take over without waiting around for Twilight. They both got to their feet and glanced around warily, not sure what to expect. Both of them knew that neither of them had any control over anything while they were in this room, and so all they could do was wait for outside interference.

The sky suddenly began to flicker between night and day, as if someone were repeatedly turning on and off a light switch. The trees they had recently been leaning on began fading in and out of focus, some of them buzzing like static on a television as they tried to regain some kind of signal. The wind that had periodically stroked their faces with all the gentility of a lover abruptly burst by in gusts, occurring at random intervals that seemed stronger each time. The colour leeched away from everything, changing their cell from a peaceful green to a hideous mix of yellow, brown and gray in a few seconds.

It looked as though the very world was dying.

"Is this it?" wondered Sonic, his voice nearly drowned out by the ferocious gale that had suddenly come up.

"It's taking an awfully long time if it is," Robotnik answered him, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Whatever it is, it's wreaking havoc on the power system of this room, and possibly the entire facility. It might just be that operation the alien mentioned earlier."

"Lupa!" blurted Sonic, concern for his friend mingling with his own frustration at being so helpless while she had the Chaos Emerald removed from her blood.

"It won't be long now," the doctor continued ominously, his word barely audible in the howling wind. "That is, if your alien friend keeps his word."

Sonic clenched his fists and continued watching the sky, saying nothing as the seconds ticked by, each one lasting an eternity longer than the last.

Finally, just when they were about to give up on Neguuma, everything around them froze. The artificial sunlight stopped flickering. The trees stopped midway between solidity and invisibility. The vicious wind immediately died.

Robotnik and Sonic exchanged an uncertain glance. If they hadn't known better, they would have sworn that time itself had stopped.

"…Okay. Now what?" Sonic finally asked, breaking the eerie silence.

As if in response, the leafy ceiling began to vibrate, slowly spreading down the trunks of the semi-transparent trees towards them.

Sonic recognized it and grinned eagerly. "This is it! He made it! He's letting us out!"

"So the alien kept his word after all," the doctor mused reflectively.

"Of course he did," returned Sonic, a determined smile spreading across his face as the air around him began shimmering. "Now it's our turn to keep up our end of the deal. Let's make some noise."

* * *

**A.N.:** ...I think I might actually be getting the hang of Sonic's character. Huh. Took me long enough.

Anyway, the fate of this fic is in your hands, dear readers. Few as you may be, I don't wanna let anyone down.

Farewell.

Nora


End file.
